The Doctor's Destiny Book 4 : Legion of Steel
by Aline Riva
Summary: Set 20 years after Phantoms. When the Doctor and Ace's daughter Alice asks about the past, she decides she wants to meet Rebel, the Doctor's 14th incarnation. The Doctor agrees, but they find him alone, and haunted by the past as he relates the tale of the day everything he held dear was shattered forever by a clash with the Doctors deadliest of enemies: The Cybermen...
1. Chapter 1

**Legion of Steel**

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**Author note:**

**This is book 4 in my Doctor's Destiny series, and is set twenty years after Book Three, Phantoms.**

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**Summary:**

**Two decades have gone by since the Seventh Doctor's path last crossed with Rebel, the Fourteenth Doctor. And Alice Mcshane-Smith is now a young woman with many questions about her Time Lord father's past.**

**When the Doctor and Ace tell Alice about how the Master almost killed him with his manufactured Toxin, the subject of her father's future incarnation comes up, and Alice asks to meet Rebel.**

**Ace is against the idea of this reunion, mainly because the Doctor once had an affair with Carla Bailey. But the Doctor agrees, and takes Alice to a house in the countryside, where he tells her the Fourteenth Doctor now lives, with his days of travelling space and time now over.**

**When Alice meets Rebel, she is fascinated to think this man who is nothing like her father is a future version of him, and as they sit and talk, she asks him why his Tardis sits in the rambling garden almost hidden by ivy and over grown weeds. She also wonders why he is completely alone, without Carla or his close friend Riley...**

**Rebel explains that his life changed forever many years before, when he came up against a mortal enemy that would shatter everything he held dear: **

_**The Cybermen. But not the kind he had known before – these creatures were semi-organic and had branched out on their own, seeking pleasure in furthering their scientific knowledge to serve the Cyber race by using humans for sadistic experiments...**_

**And then the Doctor, Ace and Alice listen while Rebel relates the tale of the day that changed everything, when the Cybermen captured the Tardis and forced him to take on the hardest fight of his life, a fight that saw him lose far more than he could ever have imagined possible...**

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**Rated:****T**

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**Warning:**** Contains scenes of violence and torture.**

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**Disclaimer: ****I own nothing, this is a work of fan fiction.**

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Chapter 1

As the Doctor stepped out of the Tardis, Ace followed.

It had been twenty years since they had visited the planet of Sabra, and nothing had changed – yet – it would be another thirty years before the planet became an Earth colony.

"The research centre is still standing," the Doctor remarked, "Although I see it's been converted further... new windows, a nice roof – it looks like a proper home now."

"Lexi and Venx must have decided to stay on," Ace replied, "I bet they'll be surprised to see us again!"

And they heard the Tardis door close a short distance behind them.

_"Wait for me!"_

They stopped walking and turned back to see their daughter Alice hurrying across the field to join them. Ace smiled as she looked at her Professor.

"She looks like you."

"And she's got your attitude!"

"Then she got the best of both of us," Ace replied, and the Doctor thought about it for a moment and then amusement danced in his eyes.

"So you're saying I'm just a pretty face?"

Ace laughed and he pretended to jab at her with his question mark umbrella.

Alice had caught up with them. She stood there slightly breathless from her dash from the Tardis, in her white top and short dark skirt she looked much like Ace in her youth, but her hair was long and dark and her eyes were blue, but seemed a shade darker at times when she thought deeply or her temper flared. She was very much like the Doctor in many ways, but certainly had her mother's attitude.

"Thanks for waiting for me!" she exclaimed, "We just landed on a strange planet and you two went off without me, so much for caring parents!"

And the Doctor and Ace exchanged an amused glance.

"You wanted to know where you were born, you said so when we were talking about the past – so here you are – _not _in a strange place," the Doctor said.

And Alice looked around, saw the deep blue sky and the lush green fields, and looked back at her parents in confusion.

"I've never been here before."

"This is Sabra," Ace told her, "You were born here."

And then she understood.

"So this is the place where all the other stuff happened too – when you was ill, Dad - you know, that part Mum doesn't like to talk about."

And the Doctor glanced at Ace. The Doctor had barely aged at all over the past twenty years, and time had been good to Ace too, even though she was twenty years older and had carried and raised a child, she was still pretty, her light brown hair still touched her shoulders and she still tied it back in a ponytail. And her own clothing was not much different to her daughter's, except Alice was two dress sizes smaller.

"I didn't know you still felt that way," the Doctor said, "Ace, I thought we'd put that behind us?"

Ace gave a sigh.

"I tried, Professor. But look at it from _my_ point of view – how could I ever forget what you went through, what _we_ went through? I often think about it, and then I feel so grateful it turned out okay in the end."

The Doctor silently decided it would be good for all of them to discuss the past, and soon, once they reached the house and revisited the place where so much had defined their future, because Alice knew little of what had happened and he was aware that she had drawn her own conclusions, and was rather mistaken by those conclusions, too...

"We can talk about this properly when we get to the house," he said, and as he turned to walk on, so did Ace.

Alice ran to catch up again, and as she spoke again the Doctor recognised the look in her eyes – she had many questions to ask...

"So what actually happened here, apart from me turning up?" she said, "I know you said this was the place where..."

And then she fell silent.

They were almost at the entrance to the house, and they stopped walking again as Ace caught the look in her daughter's eyes and then she gave a heavy sigh, regretting a night a couple of years back on Alice's eighteenth birthday, when she had shared a little too much wine and the secret had come out, as secrets often did when booze was concerned, and she had mentioned Carla Bailey and her father had once had an affair...

"Not again," the Doctor said wearily, also recalling that difficult explanation two years ago, a confession he had hoped he would never have to make to his own daughter...but she was twenty years old now, she was old enough to accept parents could make mistakes...

"Yes, this where I got involved with Carla," he said, "And like I told you before, it was over very quickly and the last time I saw her she was with Rebel."

Alice looked at him with interest.

"Your Fourteenth self? In a way, he's my Dad too?"

"Every version of me is linked to you by DNA, but I'm your father."

"And it wouldn't have happened at all without his help," Ace reminded him.

Alice recalled the story and understood at once.

"Because he healed you – that's how I got here. So in a way, he's more of a father to me than any of the other versions of you, because he helped you conceive me."

"You're right about that," the Doctor agreed, "My body was wrecked by the anti toxin. But it kept me alive until I found a cure."

And then he caught a flicker of sadness in the eyes of his wife as Ace remembered the pain he had been through.

"Come on," he said, "Let's see if anybody's home."

And he went up to the front door and pressed the buzzer.

* * *

As the Doctor waited for a response, Ace hung back with her daughter.

"Lexi's got a Sontaran boyfriend," she said, "If she says he's out in the swimming pool, just _don't_ look out the back."

"Why?" Alice asked her.,

"He swims in the nude," she replied, "Believe me, you don't want to see a naked Sontaran, because once you've seen it, you can't _un _see it, know what I mean?"

And then she laughed and so did Alice.

"I'll try to remember that," her daughter replied.

And then the door opened and Alice saw a woman in a long, pale summer dress with fair hair tied up and secured with a diamond clip standing in the doorway. Her long gold ear rings shimmered in the sunlight and she recognised her visitors instantly and smiled.

"Doctor! And Ace too! It's been too long!"

"And this is Alice, our daughter," Ace added, and Alice smiled.

"So you're the one who fancies Sontarans?"

"Alice!" Ace exclaimed, and the Doctor smiled.

"I'm the one who marries Sontarans," Lexi corrected her, extending her hand and flashing a gold band and a large diamond ring above it, "Me and Venx married fifteen years ago. And We have managed to secure building rights on one third of this planet, meaning that when it does become a colony, we are going to be very wealthy."

"Where is he now?" the Doctor asked her.

"Off securing another contract for more construction to begin," Lexi replied as she led them into the house, "We've decided to keep this place as our home, plus guest accommodation and the medical centre is still there – but when we get permission to build, the next phase is to get some apartment blocks added, of course no one can live there until it becomes a colony but its going to be worth the wait."

"It could take years," The Doctor replied, recalling how history stated the planet had another thirty years to wait for colonial status.

Lexi smiled.

"It will be an investment for us, and our children," she replied.

Ace stared at her.

"You and Venx have kids?"

"It was a difficult decision," Lexi admitted, "What with him being part of a clone batch...but I talked him around in the end. We have a son and a daughter, they go to school on Eden Earth and Venx picks them up and files them back here to Sabra for weekends and school holidays."

And then she looked thoughtfully at her visitors.

"So, what brings you back here?"

"We wanted to show our daughter around the place," the Doctor said, "You remember she was born here..."

Lexi smiled.

"Of course you can look around! Take your time, you know you're always welcome. Will you be staying long?"

"Not this time," he told her, "But thanks for the offer."

"Maybe next time, then," Lexi replied, "It's always good to see old friends. And now I'm going back to the pool to top up my tan."

And she smiled sweetly and walked off in the direction of a front room, where doors were wide open leading to the pool area outside.

Alice looked to her father.

"I've often wondered about that anti toxin treatment you had," she said quietly, "I mean, will I ever have to go through that?"

_"What?"_ Ace exclaimed.

Alice looked nervously at her mother, and then her father.

"I don't know much about it, but is it inherited?"

And the Doctor caught a flash of fear in her eyes.

"No!" he told her at once, and then he gave a sigh.

"We should have told you everything a long time ago! Come on, let's take the lift to the second floor, I'll explain on the way."

* * *

As the lift began to climb, the Doctor spoke up.

"You may have heard me mention an old enemy of mine – the Master. He developed a toxin designed to kill me. That's why I was here having the anti toxin treatment. It was a poison, Alice. So you can forget about inherited diseases, I'm a Time Lord, you've got great DNA!"

"And mine isn't too bad either," Ace reminded him, and the Doctor looked at her and smiled, his hearts filling with warmth as he recalled the day of their daughter's birth.

Then the lift came to a stop and the doors opened.

The Doctor led the way, walking out with confidence, but as Alice followed him, she turned back and caught a flicker of hesitation in her mother's eyes.

"Bad memories," Ace said quietly, and then she stepped out of the lift and they began to walk towards the medical centre.

"This was where I had my treatment," the Doctor said, "Carla Bailey did keep me alive, no matter what else happened, she did save me."

"Amongst her _other _achievements,"Ace muttered, and the Doctor turned and looked at her. Alice had walked on up the corridor, looking into empty rooms as she explored the deserted second floor.

"I thought we put that one to bed years ago," the Doctor said.

"Like you asked me to go to bed with Rebel?" Ace replied, "No, I never did think it was about evening up the score – I'll always remember what you did with her, I wish I could forget, but I can't. Can you blame me for feeling hurt all over again? It's not easy coming back here."

The look in his eyes softened.

"No I don't blame you – but this is also the place where Alice was born. We should have told her everything a long time ago."

Ace nodded.

"I now that – I feel bad that she didn't understand about the toxin."

"But she knows now."

They walked on up the corridor and as they reached the room where the Doctor had spent so many days suffering the effects of the anti toxin, memories of old pain shaded his eyes.

"Alice," he said, "This was my room. It's also the room where Rebel was treated."

Alice joined him in the doorway, looked inside and then she recalled the story:

"He was dumb enough to let someone use a faulty laser on him, and it shot him in the head? I can't believe that guy is you, a few regenerations down the line! I mean, you're so sensible and he's such a chancer!"

"He probably isn't now," the Doctor replied, "I'm sure he's changed a bit in the past twenty years."

Alice fell silent for a moment as she thought some more on the subject of the toxin.

"This Master – he won't ever come back, will he? I mean, he won't come after you again, Dad?"

The Doctor smiled.

"No, Alice. Who knows, maybe one day, eventually, a thousand years from now. But he's lost out in space at this moment in time, it's going to take him a _very_ long time to get out of there."

"He wont bother us again," Ace promised her.

"Good," Alice said, "Because if he did, he'd have _me_ to deal with!"

"Now you sound like your mother!" the Doctor remarked, and Ace laughed.

Then Alice asked a question that had been on her mind for a while.

"Can I meet him?"

The Doctor stared at her.

_"The Master?"_

"No, Rebel, your Fourteenth regeneration! I _really_ want to meet him, Dad. He healed you, I wouldn't be here today if he hadn't done that. Please say I can meet him."

Ace and the Doctor exchanged a glance.

"He used to drink quite a lot," Ace reminded her.

"And do drugs, yes I know, I remember you told me that part! But that was twenty years ago. And you said, he changed a lot after the accident with the laser. Please, let me meet him."

"What do you think, Professor?" Ace said.

The Doctor thought for a moment.

"All right, I don't see the harm in it," he replied, "But I'm _not_ going back to his crazy days. I'll go straight to where he is _now,_ just to be sure he's a bit older and wiser before he meets you, Alice. I wouldn't want you to see a future version of me drunk or high or on the floor passed out!"

Alice smiled, and looked just like Ace in her youth.

"Thanks Dad!" she said, and hugged him.

"Can we go now?"

"Professor -" Ace said cautiously, but he was still talking to Alice.

"Yes, of course – we'll leave now in the Tardis. We'll all go and pay him a visit, how's that sound?"

"Sounds ace!" she exclaimed, and then she hurried on up the corridor, impatient to get back to the lift so they could be on their way.

* * *

As they walked back down the corridor, Ace spoke up.

"I'm not so sure it's a good idea."

"I thought you liked Rebel?"

She caught a sparkle in his eyes and she smiled, recalling the day he had asked her to get closer to him, but then her smile faded.

"I really don't want to see _her_ again, I don't want to see your ex lover."

The Doctor gave another weary sigh.

"I won't think of _Rebel_ that way."

"That's different, you _asked_ me to make some good memories with him, to give him the will to live. But when you got close to Carla, there was no other motive than getting your balls in!"

"You're absolutely right of course, and yes, I _did_ get them in and I'm sorry for doing that, but it's been over twenty years since I made that mistake! Ace, I've told you before – _please_ _don't hate Carla Bailey_."

And it was then she saw it, a glimpse of something in his eyes, sadness, a haunting look that was there and then gone, but its darkness lingered in his gaze.

She knew her Professor well enough to understand it meant only one thing:

_He knew something..._

"Not more secrets!" she exclaimed.

"Let's just say Carla has not had the life you've enjoyed for the past twenty years, Ace. I don't know everything about the future but I do recall Rebel had a terrible clash with a rather nasty breed of Cybermen. I would imagine it affected everyone involved...him, Riley, Carla..."

And then he frowned.

"My fault I suppose, for saving her form the Cassandra-Aurora. Every decision that changes fate creates a ripple."

Ace was looking at him intently.

"You've said it before, not to hate her...What happened to her?"

"I don't know," he said, and Ace couldn't tell if he was being honest or hiding the truth.

_"Mum, Dad, come on!"_

Alice was waiting impatiently by the lift.

The Doctor turned back to Ace.

"Let's get back to the Tardis," he said, "We'll all go and see Rebel – that's the only way we can be certain of anything, and it's about time our daughter met the man who healed me and made her conception possible."

The look in her eyes softened as the Doctor put his arm around her and they walked towards the lift together.

"I suppose you're right," Ace agreed, "And it would be nice to see him again."

* * *

After stepping out of the lift on the ground floor and saying a brief goodbye to Lexi, they left the house and walked back across the field to the Tardis, and Alice asked questions all the way.

When the Tardis doors closed and the Doctor finally put in new co ordinates, Alice was still asking questions.

"I wonder if he thinks of me as his daughter?"

The Doctor looked up from the console.

"He probably looks on you as extended family, Alice. You were born in my era, not his."

And he activated the controls, and the Tardis made a familiar wheeze and groan. As they shifted dimensions, the blue skies of Sabra were replaced by the blackness of space.

"It will be good to see Rebel again," Ace said, and the warmth in her voice surprised the Doctor.

"And Carla," he reminded her, "The past is behind us now."

"I suppose so," Ace replied, and then Alice spoke up again.

"I wonder if he's changed much."

"I would imagine his life has changed a great deal," the Doctor said thoughtfully.

_And Ace caught that look in his eyes again._

"How do you know where to find him?"

"I traced his Tardis. It's where it's been for the past sixteen years– Earth, 2056," he replied, and then there was no time for any more questions – or explanations – as the Tardis landed.

* * *

As the Doctor opened the door and stepped outside, Alice looked around, seeing heavy trees and a sky shaded by evening shadows. A short distance away, up the path through a rambling garden, was a tall house set mostly in darkness save for lights on in the porch and showing through a downstairs window.

"For one minute there I thought we were back on Sabra," Ace remarked as she closed the door of the Tardis behind her.

"No," The Doctor replied, "This is Earth, the year is 2056 and the house we see in front of us was built in 1910, it's set in ten acres of land and it's the country home of my Fourteenth incarnation. He's lived here for sixteen years."

"Maybe no one's home," Alice remarked, and then as they walked down the path towards the house, she noticed something over by the shade of a willow tree, dark blue with stained glass windows...

_"That's his Tardis!"_

"And it's been standing in that spot for all these years," the Doctor replied, "After we said goodbye on Sabra he travelled for another four years – and then no more, he settled here on Earth."

"Why?"

Ace had that look in her eyes, the one he knew too well – she was about to demand he broke that old stubborn habit of holding back...

"I think we should let him explain," he replied, and went up to the front door.

His finger hovered over the doorbell, and then he turned back to his daughter.

"Why don't you surprise him, Alice?" he said, "I bet he won't know who you are at first!"

Alice smiled.

"Sounds like fun to me!"

And Ace gave a sigh.

"I'm not so sure it's a good idea. _Oi! don't drag me into the bushes, Professor!_"

He chuckled.

"I've never heard you complain about_ that_ before, Ace!"

And then as her parents stepped out of sight, Alice heard Ace giggle.

"Stop it!" she said, and Alice gave a sigh.

"Can't leave you two alone for more than a second without something going on!"

"That's because we have a good sex life, Alice," said her father, and Alice cringed.

"You're my Mum and Dad, _shut up!_"

And Ace giggled again.

Alice rang the doorbell.

Moments later the door was answered.

Alice stared at the man with dark hair the same shade as her fathers, with blue eyes lighter than her fathers, who was much taller than him and wearing a pale shirt with a print of blue roses all over it and dark blue jeans, he looked and sounded nothing like her father...

"Are you Rebel?"

He looked surprised to hear her ask that question.

"Yes I am, how do you know my name?"

She smiled.

"I'll give you a clue. You got my Mum pregnant."

And he stood there deep in thought for a moment.

"Oh dear," he said, "This must have been back in the old days..I used to be quite wild...was she a prostitute?"

Alice glared at him.

"No!"

He thought again.

"Was she some random girl who climbed on my lap at a party and had sex with me? If I'm right, I'm sorry but I was really out of it and I don't remember much – in fact most of those days are a bit of a blur."

And he laughed nervously.

She glared at him again.

"My Mum's name is _Ace!_"

And then he breathed a relieved sigh and smiled as his eyes lit up.

"You're Alice? I never would have recognised you! How old are you now?"

"Well it's been twenty years," she reminded him, and then Ace and the Doctor stepped out from the shadows.

"Surprise!" the Doctor said.

Rebel laughed.

"It's been too long!" he exclaimed, and embraced the Doctor and then Ace.

Then he opened the door wide and stepped back.

"Please come in," he said warmly.

And they went inside, and Rebel paused to close the door and shut out the chill of the night air before leading them through to a comfortable front room where a fire blazed warmly in the hearth.

* * *

As Rebel took a seat by the fire, Ace noticed he had been leaning on a cane and had now placed it beside his chair.

She took a seat on the sofa with the Doctor while Alice sat on a seat by the window.

"How come you need the cane?" she asked him.

"Old battle scar," he replied, "Part of a very long story."

And then he fell silent and for a moment no one spoke a word as they sat in the cosy room lit by the glowing fire, as tinsel glittered darkly in the shadows and the Christmas tree lights by the wide windows shone like tiny stars.

"It's Christmas?" Alice guessed.

"Christmas Eve," Rebel replied, and he went over to a drinks cabinet and opened it up and poured himself a glass of scotch that ran over ice and made the frozen water crack and snap.

"Can I get you a drink?" he offered.

"Tea would be nice," the Doctor said with a smile.

And Ace got up.

"I'll make it while you catch up."

"Kitchen's down the hall, last door on the right," Rebel told her, and she left the room.

* * *

Rebel sat down by the fire and looked intently at the Doctor.

"So what brings you back here?"

"Me," Alice replied, "I wanted to meet you."

He smiled.

"Well its very nice to meet you, Alice."

"What happened after we left Sabra?"the Doctor wondered.

"And why is your Tardis abandoned in the garden?" Alice added.

A look of sadness shaded Rebel's eyes. He fell silent once more and for a few moments the only sound that filled the room was the steady ticking of the clock above the fireplace. Then he drew in a deep breath and looked to the Doctor and Alice.

"We travelled for a few more years, me and Carla and Riley. I'd finally found some happiness with Carla, we were perfect for each other. And Riley, he was just happy to be a part of the adventure. _But that was before_."

"Before what?" the Doctor asked.

Again he fell silent, pausing to take another drink before looking back at the Doctor and Alice, and again there was a look in his eyes of sorrow, deep sorrow that would haunt him forever...

"_Before the day that changed everything,"_ he said in a hushed voice, _"Before they shattered everything I held dear."_

"Who were they?" the Doctor asked him.

Rebel looked into his eyes and the Doctor could not measure the depth of the pain he saw reflected there.

"_Cybermen," _he replied.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

As the fire blazed in the warm and cosy room, the word _Cybermen_ hung in the air like a blast of cold air that had passed through the room lingering like a ghost.

Ace exchanged a glance with the Doctor as she set the tea on the table and then she sat down beside her husband, silently recalling their own battles with the Cybermen so long ago. The thought of the huge steel men still had the power to set ice into her bones.

"What are Cybermen?" Alice asked.

And the Doctor gave a sigh.

"We definitely should have told her more about the past,"he said, and Ace nodded.

It was Rebel who took up the explanation:

"The Cybermen originated from the planet Mondas. When their planet was knocked out of solar orbit they decided to survive by replacing their human bodies part by part, until they were no more than machine with all emotion removed from their once human brains."

"Human?"

"Yes, Alice. Mondas was once twinned with Earth. Ironic, isn't it, how two planets can start off as identical and end up as opposites?"

And pain and bitterness shone in his eyes, and then he took another sip of his drink.

"They have no compassion, no humanity, their minds are as cold as their steel bodies and they forcibly upgrade those of flesh and bone to extend their army and keep the Cyber race expanding. I've had battles with them in all my lifetimes...but I wasn't ready for what happened sixteen years ago. _None of us could have predicted it_."

And as he fell silent again, Ace looked around the room lit only by firelight and the stark white lights that shone on a tree cast in shadow, and she heard the crackle of the fire in the grate and it suddenly hit her that Rebel was completely alone in this house – _no Riley, no Carla..._

"Are you sure you want to talk about this?" Ace asked him.

He studied the bottom of the glass he held in his hand, nodded and then placed it on the table, leaving the rest of the booze to melt with the ice.

"Yes," he replied, "I'm sure I can talk about it. And I _don't _need to finish off a whole bottle of alcohol to do it, nor do I need to hit a T bomb," and he managed a smile despite the sadness in his eyes, "I'm clean, I'm actually off all the junk now. I still have a few drinks sometimes, but the rest is ancient history. Carla always wanted me to get clean, so did Riley..."

And then as deeper pain reflected in his eyes, Alice watched as her parents both looked at him intently, but no one spoke a word.

"I can talk about this," Rebel said again, "It's been a long time since I have, but I can handle it."

"We went back to Sabra before we came here," the Doctor said, "I wanted to show Alice where she was born. A lot of painful memories came back for me, about the time I was fighting the Master's toxin. Some memories never lose their power to hurt, do they?"

Rebel nodded.

"You're right," he agreed, "After the Cybermen, I found this place, left the Tardis in the garden and now I'm living quietly. It's the best way, it works for me."

And then as he cast his mind back, he heard the crash of steel footsteps in the Tardis corridor, saw the Cybermen invading the ship, heard Carla scream as Riley clung to her in the crawl space, then he recalled his best friend looking into his eyes like he wondered if he was insane as he said, _"What do you mean, shoot Carla if they get in? I can't shoot a woman!"_

And Rebel reached for his drink and his hand shook and he knocked the glass, spilling the contents across the polished coffee table.

"I'd better get another drink... and clean up that mess, " he said nervously, and then he got up.

As Rebel left the room, Ace lowered her voice.

"I'm not so sure this is a good idea, Professor. He's a nervous wreck, we could be waking up a lot of demons -"

"He'll be fine," the Doctor replied, "He hasn't spoken about it for years, that's all it is."

And then Rebel came back into the room, wiped the coffee table, poured himself another, much larger drink and sat down again.

"So," he said, "The Cybermen..."

And suddenly he sounded much like the man they recalled from so long ago, although whether it was down to him pulling himself together or the drink doing it for him was something only Rebel knew for sure.

"We were taking a scenic route around the fifth galaxy," he said, "Me, Carla and Riley. We had been travelling together for almost four years and life was going just fine..probably too well, it was time for disaster to strike..."

And as the Doctor and Ace and their daughter listened, the Fourteenth Doctor known as Rebel began to relate his tale, and as he told the story, he cast his mind back to a time when life was very different...

* * *

_It had been more than three years since he had cast off the colour of mourning and told Carla Bailey that he loved her. In the time that had passed, they had travelled the universe, encountering trouble along the way, but nothing they couldn't handle. _

_Riley was the best ever friend a man could wish for, he had fought alongside him as hard as they had also partied along the way. He had Carla and Riley and the Tardis, and the whole of time and space felt like his playground..._

Rebel was on his back on the bed in the lab.

He was shaking from the sheer exertion of the rush he had felt as Carla had stung him with a nerve stimulating device, his chest and shoulders were peppered with tiny, light bruises and as he had taken her in his arms to thank her for moving her world to slide in with his need for kink, he had made love to her so impatiently that it had been bruising and rough, and over with far quicker than he had planned, but now as he lay back aching but satisfied, he gave her a gentle kiss as she got up and left his side.

"You will never know how much it means to me," he said, "You know I need to feel it sometimes."

Carla put her dress back on and ran her fingers through her hair.

"Now you don't have the empathic receptor I thought your need for pain would subside," she remarked, "Clearly I was wrong."

"I was just made kinky," he replied, and then he smiled and so did she.

"I love it when you role play the evil doctor," he said to her, and then he lay back naked on crumpled sheets and sipped a neat vodka.

_Then the door burst open._

"Can I borrow your -" Riley's eyes widened, "_Sonic screwdriver._..sorry, mate -"

Vodka spilled on the sheets as Rebel snatched at the covers, pulling them up over his groin.

"Don't look at my -"

"I'm not!" Riley protested, "I...I just wanted the screwdriver to crack open that sealed crate of beer, the bar's run dry again -"

"In my pocket, in my blue jacket, the one with the roses on the lapels – _get out_..."

Riley was still staring at him:

Rebel had tiny bruises all over his upper body, the sheets were a mess and there was a half empty bottle of vodka on the table next to the bed, beside Carla's crumpled lab coat and a black lace thong...

"Where's your jacket?" Riley asked him.

"In my bedroom, back of the chair on the dresser - get _out,_ Riley!"

And Riley ran his fingers through spiky fair hair as his jewelled rings glittered beneath the bright lights of the lab and he smirked at the scene he had walked in on, then he looked at the floor, then he brushed down the jacket of his dark grey steam punk suit and laughed.

"I never realised it was_ kinky time._ I heard no screams of pain – or is it bliss, I can never _quite _understand that bit...okay...don't look at me like that, mate... coat..bedroom..thanks..."

And then he walked out of the room and closed the door behind him.

Carla giggled.

"The look on his face!"

Rebel's own face was flushing as he grabbed his clothes.

"You'll have to get in the habit of locking that door, Carla!"

"But it's just the lab, and there's only three of us here!"

"Three," he emphasised, "Riley is here too!"

Carla was still laughing.

"He looked straight between your legs and said _screwdriver!_"

"It's not funny."

"Yes it is!"

Rebel threw on his shirt and left it unbuttoned and grabbed her, pulling her close as he kissed her deeply.

"Thank you for rocking my world, you kinky woman!"

And then their eyes met and his smile faded as he looked at her and suddenly thought about the rest of her life, her human life, with him, for always.

"_Marry me."_

She stared at him.

"_You_ want to get married?"

"Why not? I was married before, I want to do it again. I want to make a life with you, I want you to be my wife, have my children..."

Deep emotion burned in his eyes, it had sparked up as fast as the passion that had led to such frantic love making only half an hour earlier.

"Are you sure about this?" Carla asked him, "I know you can be impulsive -"

"Yes, I _am_ sure! When we reach a suitable planet that sells the best diamonds I'll buy you the best engagement ring I can get my hands on! The finest in the universe! I want you to be my wife, and I very much want to have another family, Carla. Please say yes."

She started to smile.

"I couldn't say no," she replied, and they kissed again.

Then they separated as Riley knocked on the door.

"Come in!" Rebel said, and Riley opened the door.

"Found it, used it, do you want it back now?" he said, offering him the sleek sonic screwdriver.

Rebel gave a sigh.

"You could have put it back in my pocket where you found it?"

"Oh yeah...okay, I'll do that.."

"Riley..."

He turned back. Rebel smiled.

"_I'm getting married."_

Riley stared at them.

"You two are making it legal?

Carla smiled.

"Yes we are,"Rebel said proudly.

Riley's eyes lit up with joy and he walked into the lab and hugged them both.

"I'm so happy for you!" he exclaimed, "It's about time, Rebel!"

And then he stepped back from the embrace and looked thoughtfully at his best friend.

"Let me know when you've set the date," he said, "You will have _THE_ stag do that will be talked about throughout the universe for thousands of years! It's going to be the _best_ party ever!"

And Carla gave a groan as he looked away.

"_Please no..." _she murmured.

"What was that?" Riley wondered, "I didn't catch it -"

"We'll talk later," Rebel said quickly, and then Riley got it.

"Oh yeah...later... I'd better put your screwdriver back where I found it."

Then Riley left the room.

"What's the matter?"

Carla met his gaze with reluctance.

"I am absolutely dreading you having a stag night! I can see it now, mountains of illegal substances, enough booze to kill the average human – except you can just about handle that because you're a Time Lord...and I know, just _know_ he's going to hire strippers and hookers and -"

"Carla," he said softly, "That won't happen."

And then a sudden thought hit him and he grabbed her hand excitedly.

"I'm going to set a course for Askquara, it's a planet known through out the universe for its fine diamonds!"

And she laughed as she ran with him from the lab and up the corridor to the console room.

* * *

As they turned the corner and came to a sharp stop, she laughed again as he kissed her.

"All I want to do is make you my wife," he promised her, "I don't care about Riley's plans – I'm not going to be a part of them, not if you don't want me to!"

And then he led her over to the console and as they stood framed by the view of space filled with stars beyond the wide viewing port, he looked into her eyes and smiled.

"I'm thinking about the rest of your life," he told her, "I want to be with you, only you, and I want you to have my children. I love you, Carla Bailey."

Then he pulled her closer and their lips touched and a gentle kiss turned deeper.

_And as a crash shook the Tardis as the first shot from an approaching enemy vessel hit the shields, the blow pushed them part._

Rebel gave a gasp as he stared at the wide silver ship that had appeared on the screen.

Carla was leaning against the console, she flipped her long hair off her face and looked at the screen with frightened eyes.

"What happened?"

Rebel was still staring at the sight of the vessel.

"_No..."_ he whispered, _"No, it can't be..."_

And then a second shot hit the Tardis, and the ship tilted violently as Rebel clung to the console and to Carla as she gave a startled cry, fighting to keep her balance.

"What the bloody hell is going on?" yelled Riley as he staggered into the console room, still off balance from the sharp tilt of the ship.

"It can't be..." Rebel said again, still staring at the sight of the enemy vessel.

Then a light blinked on the console and Riley was there right away, checking the controls.

"Oh shit this is bad...they've downed our shields! _How _can they down our shields?"

He looked to Rebel.

_"Our shields are gone!"_

Rebel drew in a slow breath.

"Carla, I want you to go through the lab to the inner door...there's a crawl space that leads to a panic room. It's there to protect us against the worst. I want you to open up the door, I'll see you in a minute!"

She was still standing there.

"_GO!"_ he yelled, and her face turned pale and she nodded, then ran from the room.

* * *

"What's going on?"Riley demanded, and then the ship shuddered, as lights on the console blinked warnings.

"They've got us, they're drawing us in on a traction beam!" Rebel said urgently as his fingers danced across keypads and he tried in vain to cancel the connection, _"NOTHING is working!"_

He screwed his hand into a fist and thumped the console.

"_Come on, work!" _he shouted.

"What's happening?" Riley said again.

Rebel looked at him sharply.

"It's a Cyber ship. _Not_ your common Cyberfleet standard production ship, _not_ filled with your average _delete delete, upgrade the humans _Cybermen...that is a Cyber research vessel, I've heard of them but I've never seen one before...they don't modify their prisoners, they use them for experimentation to further scientific development of the Cyber race! Even their own breed have little to do with them because they are _not _like the others – they kept the pleasure areas of their brains, they _enjoy _what they do, they cut up humans like lab rats and mentally get off on it! _They are the psychos of the Cyber race!_"

Riley's face paled.

"But we can fight them, right? We can, can't we?"

Rebel reached for his laser pistol and set it from stun to kill and handed it to Riley, who stared at him in shock.

"You think a little gun like this can hold off Cybermen?"

A trickle of sweat ran down Rebel's face.

"No," he said in a hushed voice, "But I'm hoping if you and Carla get to the sealed room they won't find you. And maybe I can work something out...you can't take them on!"

Riley looked at the gun and back to his best friend.

"So why the gun?"

Rebel drew in a slow breath.

"_If they find you, its your way out. Trust me, it will be an easier death than the one they will have lined up for you. Shoot Carla first."_

Riley was looking at him as if he wondered if he had just gone insane.

"What do you mean, _shoot Carla _if they get in? I can't shoot a woman!"

"Then you'd better follow her and get to the sealed room and lock the door. I can see you on camera, I'll be in the chamber behind my room – it's where I can see every single room in the Tardis. The door is concealed, I'm hoping I'll have time to think something up -"

"What if you can't?"

"_I have to! Now go!"_

"But I can't just leave you!"

Rebel's eyes blazed with urgency as the beam locked on to the Tardis drew it closer to the ship.

"_There's no time, Riley! Get out of here!_"

"Okay," Riley said, "And when you think of that plan, you give me a shout right away and I'll be there."

"Of course I will."

"Good luck," Riley said, and then he ran from the console room.

And Rebel turned back to the screen, blinking away tears as he thought of his best friend and the woman he loved, who stood little or no chance once the Cybermen boarded and scanned the vessel for signs of life...

* * *

As the beam drew the ship closer, Rebel desperately tried to unlock the Tardis from the pull of the enemy ship. Then he tried again to use the space-time controls, but it seemed everything had been shut down by the pull of the enemy vessel. But every attempt failed, and then he looked at the screen and saw the ship looming closer, and he turned from the console and ran back down the corridor, went into his room, locked the door and then hurried over to a wall, where he ran his hand along the wall and found the hidden seal, then he turned back and grabbed his screwdriver from his jacket, activated it and ran it along the length of the door.

It swung open and he went inside, closed it behind him and hurried over to the control area, where many screens showed every room in the Tardis.

He found the hidden room, but it was empty.

"Where are you?" he said in a low voice, hoping Carla had not changed her mind and decided to wait for him, because he was not going to hide or die like a trapped rat, if the Cybermen wanted him, he would be ready to face them when the time came...

Rebel switched the camera view to the crawl space that led to it, and saw Carla and Riley closing the door and entering the steel tunnel.

"We should wait for Rebel," she said in a frightened voice, and Rebel hit a switch and activated the microphone:

"Carla, get to the panic room. Stay there with Riley until I join you. Trust me, just do as I say."

And he saw a look of fear on Carla's face as she nodded.

"Okay...I do trust you."

"_And I'm armed," _Riley said, _"I know what to do if I have to."_

And then he looked into the camera, and Rebel's twin hearts ached as he recalled his order to shoot Carla if the Cybermen got in...One look in his best friend's eyes told him Riley had understood the gravity of the situation, and was now resigned to either fight, or die...

"When you get to the room, the steel door is open. Go inside and lock it. Its a manual lock that can only be opened from the inside, the door is very thick and I'm hoping it will appear solid to their scanners. You should be hidden, but I have no guarantee of it. Get to the room now, as fast as you can!"

And then he felt the Tardis shudder again.

He reached into his pocket just to reassure himself that he did at least have his sonic screwdriver, which had got him out of more scrapes than he could count over the course of his many lifetimes.

But he still missed his laser pistol, and as he thought again of the order he had given to Riley, he blinked away tears.

He didn't know if the Cybermen would find the hidden room.

But he was sure that if they did, Riley would kill Carla and then himself before allowing either of them to be taken by the enemy to die a terrible death...

"_I am so sorry, Carla," _he said in a hushed voice, _"It shouldn't have ended like this..."_

And then the Tardis shuddered as it was dragged into the cargo hold of the ship.

On the monitor Carla gave a cry of fear.

"What was that?" she said tearfully, "Riley, what was it?"

Riley had swung open the door and crawled inside. He reached for her and helped her in, closed the heavy door and then the locking mechanism sounded loudly.

Rebel's hand shook as he switched to the internal monitor:

Carla was up against the wall, sitting in there and clinging to Riley, who had the laser pistol in his hand. To Rebel's relief, the pistol was, for now, pointing towards the closed door.

"_We may not stand much of a chance," _he said in a low voice, _"But the first one through that hatch gets it!"_

Then he looked up at the camera.

"Rebel, can you hear me, are you still there?"

"Yes, I'm here."

"_Hurry up and think of a plan!" _he yelled, _"Because thinking and plans ain't my strong point, mate! Get us out of here!"_

"I'm trying!" Rebel said, and he turned from the screen as he blinked away more tears.

Then he thought about the wiring beneath the console, and wondered if some quick work with the sonic screw driver might raise the shields a fraction, buying them some time...

* * *

He ran from the hidden room, went back down the corridor and into the console room, fell to his knees and activated the screwdriver, then tore off a metal panel and grabbed a handful of wires.

His hand was still trembling as he used the screwdriver to cut through connections and then hastily rejoin them in another order, and then he put the screwdriver back in his pocket, jumped up and keyed in a sequence, watching and waiting for the lights to blink.

_Nothing happened._

"Come on!" he yelled, and hit the console with his fist.

_The lights stayed dark._

"There has to be something I can do!" he said, desperately scanning the controls for something he had missed, some way to keep the enemy out while he figured out the way to push the shield system back up. Even half power would have been enough, but everything was locked down...

Rebel thought of Riley and Carla locked in the panic room, the most secure place on the whole ship, a place that was impenetrable to most scanning systems...

_Most, but not all..._

Then he considered bargaining with the Cybermen:

_Perhaps if they had a Time Lord, they would let the humans go..._

_And then he swiftly remembered Cybermen did not do deals._

They were faced with the prospect of being invaded by creatures with no compassion, no mercy, who were driven by the desire to torture and destroy in the name of research to further the Cyber race, and Riley and Carla were waiting in hope that he would come up with a solution to save them – and he had no solution.

And then as the crash of heavy footsteps sounded outside, he looked up at the screen and his eyes widened in horror as he saw a sight that struck fear into his twin hearts:

_The Cybermen were coming._

_They were outside the Tardis, and the shields were down._

_It was too late. They were coming in..._


	3. Chapter 3

**Warning: This chapter contains scenes of violence and some bad language.**

* * *

Chapter 3

As the sound of a crash made the Tardis shudder, Rebel ran from the console room, the crashing echoed down the corridor and the Tardis continued to shudder as the Cybermen forced the doors.

He ran into the hidden room and sealed the door, then looked desperately at the screen that showed the inside view of the panic room:

Riley had his arm around Carla while his other hand clutched at the laser pistol and he kept it trained on the closed door.

"I think they're breaking in," he said as his voice echoed around the hollow room, "I can hear them...but they're not in yet, they're not in the Tardis...Rebel can hold them off, he knows what he's doing..."

And Carla shifted closer to him. She looked terrified...

Rebel thought about the Tardis systems, and knew there was nothing he could do because the Cyber ship had locked down all controls. He thought about the wiring in the console room that linked to wiring in the corridor, if the power had been on he stood a chance of setting up a beam that would be visible only on the Tardis frequency, that would have electrocuted every Cyberman who entered the ship – but his idea was useless, because the power was down...

And then he heard a mighty crash that shook the ship violently, and he turned his gaze to the screen that showed the console room, the doors of the Tardis were wide open and two Cybermen were entering the ship.

Then as he turned up the volume control, he heard one of the metal men speak:

_"Cyber Controller, we have gained access to the Doctor's Tardis."_

Then a second voice replied through a built in communicator on the arm of the Cyberman:

_"Scanners detect two human life forms, proceed to the corridor, your own system will pick up the location."_

And the Cybermen left the console room, turning down the long, winding corridor...

* * *

Rebel was staring at the screen in disbelief as he thought about what they had just said:

The scanners had only picked up human life forms, but _not_ Time Lord?

"_They're deliberately seeking out the humans first?" _he said in a hushed voice, and then he looked back at the screen where Riley was keeping a steady aim on the hatch door.

As Rebel listened, he heard Carla speak:

"Where is he? Rebel said he would meet us here...he can't still be out there..."

And then she looked up towards the camera.

"Rebel? Where are you? It's too dangerous to stay out there!"

And he drew in a slow breath as his hearts weighed heavy.

"Carla, Riley? They got in...I'm still watching the monitors, they're on their way down the corridor... they have scanners, powerful scanners and they are locating you...I am trying all I can to stop this but the Tardis power is down, I repeat, _DOWN_. I don't know what to do..."

"_Neither do I!"_ Riley yelled as he pulled Carla into his arms as she wept and the laser gun brushed the side of her head, its barrel sliding through her hair.

Rebel's eyes blurred with tears as he regretted ever giving him the order – but what else could he have done, let them take her and force her to die a horrific death at their hands?

No...at least shooting would be better, even though he wanted to race to the panic room and snatch the pistol from Riley's hands...

Riley was shaking.

"_I can't!"_ he yelled, and Carla looked at him in confusion.

"What do you mean, they're coming in, you _have_ to shoot them!"

Riley grabbed her face, forcing her to look at him.

"_They are not like the Cybermen we've heard about...these bastards want to cut up humans to experiment on them... we're better off dead than in their hands...but I can't do it..."_

He let her go and gave a sob.

"_I can't kill us!"_

"Oh shut up, Riley!" Carla snapped, and she snatched the gun from his hand, holding it in a two handed grip as she trained it on the hatch.

"_I'll _shoot the bastards if they try to get in!"

And Rebel turned from the camera as tears ran down his face.

He was relieved, but not sure why – because if the Cybermen took them, their deaths would be terrible, a quick shot from a laser pistol would have been far kinder...

He turned back to the camera, saw Cybermen moving up the corridor, towards the entrance to the crawl space. One held a scanner and indicated to a wall, and they stopped, the other metal creature slid a weapon from his forearm and as the built in blow torch blazed into life, it began to cut through the sealed entrance.

"Have you located the Doctor?" the voice of the Cyber Leader rang out loudly.

As one Cyberman cut through to the tunnel, the other paused, looking around, up and down the length of the corridor.

"Negative," he replied, and then he turned back in time to see the concealed entrance crash to the floor. The Cybermen crawled inside.

Rebel caught his breath as he saw the heavy steel creatures making their way up the tunnel, at first as silhouettes, and then the gleam of steel became visible, along with metal and steel and expressionless faces, as they approached the hatch lumbering and heavy, steel on steel as they made their way up the crawl space.

"I'm sorry," Rebel whispered, and he turned back to the screen that showed an inner view of the panic room.

"_Riley, Carla – I'm so very sorry, I am, I'm sorry...they're outside, they've found you...I'm trapped there's nothing I can do, the power is down!"_

Riley had reached for Carla, steadying her as she aimed the laser pistol at the hatch.

"Rebel," she called out, "Save yourself, do something, get the power back on...I don't think we can hold them off!"

And tears ran down his face as the Cyberman closest to the hatch began to cut through the thick steel. As sparks came through to the inner room, terror shone in Riley's eyes.

"Give me the gun!" he yelled, snatching it from Carla and shoving her behind him, "If we're going to die, I'm going first...I'll try to hold them off as long as I can..."

Carla was sobbing in terror, and then as the hatch was pushed in she screamed, and Rebel watched on the screen, powerless to intervene as the Cyberman reached inside.

Riley fired the pistol and the laser shot flashed white, hit the creature and there was another shower of sparks.

And then it continued, relentless, unaffected by the single shot at close range, reaching in and closing a steel hand around Carla's ankle as she screamed again.

Then it tugged at her, and she was gone in a blur of movement, dragged away into the darkened crawl space.

Riley stared in horror, aiming again with the gun, hesitating as he wondered if he would hit Carla if he fired again.

_"Surrender,"_ said a metallic voice,_ "Or we shall delete the woman."_

And Riley stared into the darkness, the pistol in his shaking hands.

"_Let her go!"_ he yelled.

"Kill her," said the metallic voice, and Carla screamed again.

Rebel hit a button on the controls and leaned closer to the microphone as he watched the screen.

"_Leave the woman alone! And forget about the man...it's me you want. I'm the Doctor. I will join you in the corridor. Spare their lives and take mine instead."_

"Don't do this, Rebel!" Riley shouted back to him, "They won't do a deal!"

And then a steel hand reached into the hatch, grasping Riley's wrist in a crushing grip that made him scream as bones cracked audibly and the laser pistol clattered to the floor of the panic room.

"_LET HIM GO!"_ Rebel shouted, but Riley screamed in agony a second time as the Cyberman dragged him by his broken wrist from the hidden room and back down the crawl space.

Rebel's hearts were racing and he was shaking as he reached into his pocket and drew out a vial of blue mist. He had bottled it for emergencies, and he reasoned if he was about to die he may as well do it numb...

He snapped open the vial and inhaled sharply, the world turned blue and fear was pushed back to a bearable level as the shade of blue faded. Then he looked back at the screen, his pupils shrunk to pin pricks, and saw the metal face of a Cyberman looking into a camera outside the crawlspace.

"I'm coming out to meet you," he said, "Do not harm my companions."

And the Cyberman replied at once:

"We _know _where you are, Doctor. We were interested in your reaction to abduction of the humans. Surrender now, before we tear down the wall and remove you by force."

Rage blazed in his eyes.

"_YOU FUCKING BASTARDS!"_ he yelled,_ "Fucking bastards, you fucking knew?"_

And then he gave a sob as he wondered if Riley and Carla were already dead...

Tears ran down his face as he stared at the emotionless features of the Cyberman.

"_Don't you harm them, don't you touch them...you can have me, take me, NOT them!"_

And then he turned from the monitors, buttoned up his shirt and ran his fingers through his hair, taking a deep breath as he forced calm into a mind raging with a storm of fear and anger and confusion.

He recalled all he knew about this breed of Cybermen – psychopaths, worse than the rest...of _course_ they had tricked him, they wanted to study his reaction...

Despite the buzz of the T bomb, he was still trembling, although he barely felt it as he walked to the concealed door, opened it and stepped through.

He cast a glance at the bed he had shared with Carla, silently remind himself that she could still be alive, just like Riley – and that thought was enough to carry his steps to the door that led to the corridor.

He hesitated, feeling in his pocket for his sonic screwdriver. It was still there, not a weapon, but his only useful tool now the pistol was lost in the panic room...

He opened the door and stepped into the corridor, and came face to face with two Cybermen.

He showed no fear as he drew in a breath and looked at them with eyes that blazed like blue fire.

"_Here I am," _he said darkly, _"Do as you wish with me. But let the humans go!"_

* * *

Back on Earth, as the fire cracked and cast a warm glow around the room, a silence descended as Rebel paused, taking another drink and then setting the glass down on the table again. Then he drew in a slow breath and looked to the Doctor, his wife and daughter.

"There was nothing else I could do. The power was down, the shields were knocked out – I'd tried everything I could think of to reboot the Tardis systems, but the Cyber ship had her locked down. A laser pistol was about as much use as a water pistol against the enemy. And they had Riley and Carla. All I could do was offer them my own life."

Ace looked into his eyes as he sat alone by the flickering fire, and felt deep sadness for the man who had lost everything and now lived alone, those he loved gone because of that terrible day...

"I'm so sorry," she said quietly.

Alice wanted to say something similar, but no words would come as she thought of Riley and Carla in the panic room, dragged out by the Cybermen.

The Seventh Doctor poured some more tea, stirred it and then took a sip.

"Cybermen," he said, "Always difficult to handle at the best of times... so what happened after that?"

Rebel briefly closed his eyes, taking in a slow breath as he pushed away the chill that lingered in his blood as he recalled the day they broke into the Tardis. Then he looked back at the Doctor.

"I was terrified. Not for me, because I'm a Time Lord. I've died many times and will die many more. It was Carla and Riley I was afraid for, I was terrified for _them_...but I'd taken a T bomb, that took the edge off, ironically I'd almost kicked the habit, but I had this one spare just in case I needed it. I was pretty high when I faced the Cybermen. I was in a rage, too..."

And as he recalled surrendering to the enemy, it felt like it had happened yesterday...

* * *

Rebel's eyes blazed as he stood in the Tardis corridor glaring at the Cyberman who stood before him. He knew a second metal creature was armed and its built in weaponry was trained on him, but he didn't care any more.

"_You wanted me? Here I bloody well am, you have yourselves a Time Lord, now let the humans go!"_

And then he heard Carla give a cry of fear and saw her and Riley being escorted by force from the Tardis corridor. Riley was staggering, in pain from his broken wrist and bleeding from a cut to head that stained his hair scarlet and trickled down his neck to the collar of his shirt, and darkened the shoulder of his grey jacket.

"_Rebel!" _he shouted, and then he was dragged out of sight.

He glared at the Cyberman who blocked his path.

"_You'd better let them go," _he said in a low voice, _"Because I'm not like any other Doctor you have met before. I am your worst nightmare and you will find that out if you destroy my companions. You can beat me, torture me, cut me open – I won't give up. I will find a way to come back at you and kick your steel arses all the way back to Mondas. I'm not called Rebel for nothing. I'm the black sheep, the mutant, the one who went a bit wrong. In Earth terms, l'm a bit of a fucker. Take note!"_

The Cyberman responded by seizing his arm in a crushing grip and twisting it behind his back, making him cry out in pain.

"You are now the property of the Cyber race," he was told.

Rebel struggled, and the Cyberman twisted his arm harder, and pain throbbed and then ripped through his shoulder and he yelled out, hearing a snap and knowing at once his shoulder was dislocated. It was then he drew in a slow breath, allowing himself to be marched down the corridor, knowing any further damage could only hinder his attempt at escape. For now, at least the effect of the T bomb was making the pain bearable...

The Cybermen marched him through the console room and out the open Tardis door, into the cargo hold of the Cyber ship.

"Wait," Rebel said, "I have something to say..." and both Cybermen stopped walking.

As one pinned his arm behind his back, the one who had the weapon trained on him stepped closer.

"You have something to say, Time Lord?" he asked in a metallic voice.

Hatred blazed in Rebel's eyes.

"_You're the scum of the universe,"_ he stated, and spat in the steel face of the Cyberman who stood over him.

"_That's for breaking into my Tardis, you pathetic, twisted tin men! Fuck you, the ship you flew in on, your mothers and fathers and the whole of the Cyber race!"_

And as the spit ran down the Cyberman's blank features, the other who pinned his arm gave him a shove and continued to march him through the cargo hold.

"You are now our prisoner," he stated.

Pain throbbed in Rebel's shoulder and the ache was starting to deepen.

"_Yes I am," _he said in a low voice, _"For now..."_

* * *

Rebel was taken up a steel corridor and then a heavy door slid back and he was shoved into a holding cell.

"Our Leader will be with you soon," the Cyberman said, "He wishes to interrogate you."

Rebel was leaning against the wall and briefly let go of his dislocated arm, fixing the steel creature with eyes like lasers.

"_Tell him this!"_ he said, and used his good arm to jab a middle finger at his enemy.

The Cyberman hit a control panel and laser beams blocked the doorway, and then he turned and walked away.

Rebel clutched again at his arm, and then turned to face the wall, stepping back as he drew in a deep breath.

"_Now or never," _he muttered, _"T bomb won't last forever..."_

And he slammed his shoulder against the solid wall, crying out sharply as bones crunched and popped back into place.

Then he slid down the wall as pain continued to throb deep in his shoulder, he broke out in a sweat and breathed heavily as he closed his eyes, wondering how he could get out of this holding cell, and how he could get to Riley and Carla before it was too late...

* * *

The pain faded quickly to a dull ache. Rebel could move his arm thanks to the numbing effect of the T bomb, which meant he had a handful of hours, a brief window of time that was probably all Riley and Carla also had...

He looked up and saw a camera trained on him, and cancelled out the idea of tampering with the doors laser seal with his sonic screwdriver.

And then the Cybermen returned, the door was briefly opened as the beams slid back and the Cyber Leader entered the cell.

As soon as the towering creature entered the room, the guard outside activated the beams once more, ensuring the cell was secure.

"We have you at last, Doctor," the Cyber Leader said, "And your companions will be useful for experimental purposes. We have already selected their best use to serve our research to further the Cyber race."

Rebel had been leaning heavily against the wall, saving his strength, but now he straightened up, taking in a slow breath as he tried to ignore the pain from his aching shoulder.

"I have taken on your kind more times than I can count. It will end badly – for _you_, it always does."

"We intend to explore the possibilities of using your DNA to strengthen the might of the Cyber race."

Rebel looked at him in disgust.

"Well I won't be fathering any Cyber kids, your kind sickens me! You'd better ask someone else, you're wasting your time on me."

"We will extract your DNA for experimental purposes," the Leader replied, "You can not resist us."

"I bloody well can, I can easily resist, because all forms of evil repel me. Yours is especially revolting. How does it feel to be made of steel, no flesh, no bones, no humanity left? Oh wait – you can't feel, can you? Don't you even sense a slight notion of jealousy towards my kind, or towards the human race? Think about it, Mondas and Earth, once neighbouring planets, the Earth could have been a mirror of your people's own fate, but instead you stripped them of all humanity! Your race is not noble, not worth the tin your kind are plated with, you are devoid of all that ought to matter, all that defines life in its true sense. In other words, you lose, you always will, you lost from the day you gave up your bodies for solid metal and took away your compassion with it!"

"You will not protest for much longer, Doctor. If you do not co operate, we will force you to do as we wish."

"Of course you will," he replied, "What else can you do? I'm aware you're getting a deep sense of satisfaction from our suffering, if that is all you can feel it's worthless! I understand pain far more than you realise. I also know there can be no emotion without its opposite. You lack everything you need to truly exist. Your race is dead from the inside!"

"Your companion Riley is being prepared for experimentation," the Leader replied, and it was then Rebel's true emotions showed through as fear flickered in his eyes.

"Riley? What use is he to you? He's just another human, let him go – you have me, at least as long as you can keep me prisoner. Riley is worthless to you."

"He is invaluable," the Leader replied, "We are experimenting on his human system, introducing a serum that will alter the natural behaviour of his human composition. We intend to study him indefinitely."

And Rebel felt a wave of fear wash over him as he thought of his best friend, defenceless against the enemy...

"Please, let him go. Neither of my companions are any use to you. I am useful, I'm a Time Lord."

"You are an enemy of the Cyber race, and can not be trusted for an alliance," the Leader replied as he stood over him, "Your attempts to bargain with us are futile."

And Rebel felt more fear than he dared to show as he thought of the fragile human lives that were at stake, the two people he cared about most were in terrible danger...

"At least let the woman go. Carla is useless to you," he said, "She's just a companion, she has no special knowledge or abilities. Perhaps if you took Riley out of the experimental programme, he might be of other use to you – he is a qualified toxicologist, specialising in manufactured viruses. Spare his life, allow him to work for you."

The Cyber Leader paused, and then he spoke again:

"Riley is already being prepared for experimentation. We have no need of his Earth knowledge of virus programs."

Rebel felt desperate as he looked into the metallic face of the Cyber Leader.

"Then at least let the woman go. Release Carla Bailey, she is not an enemy of the Cyber race. She is an innocent party in this, she knows nothing of my former battles with the Cybermen!"

"The woman is of great interest to us," the Cyber Leader replied, "It is clear you have an attachment to her."

Rebel shook his head, knowing if he revealed his love for her, Carla's fate would surely become even worse...

"No, I barely know her, she's an innocent party -"

"_The woman has been scanned, and found to be in early stages of pregnancy. The child carries Time Lord DNA."_

Rebel stared at him... Carla was pregnant?

He shook his head.

"No, that's not possible, I would have known..."

"She did not know," the Cyber Leader replied, "The foetus is aged around five weeks. We have removed it and placed it in our laboratory, where we will accelerate its growth and experiment with its unique human-Time Lord DNA."

Shock prevented him from speaking as tears filled his eyes...

_Carla had been pregnant?_

Then rage took over as he lunged at the Cyber Leader.

"_That's my child, you fucking bastard!" _he yelled, and the beams that sealed the room were broken as a guard stepped in and fired a shot, sending searing heat into Rebel's hip.

As he fell back on the floor, pain burned deep into bone. He looked down and saw a small area of burnt material where the laser had cut through his clothing. The beam had been slender and precise, slicing into his hip socket. The wound was small, but enough to cause agony that would prevent him from standing when the effect of the T bomb wore off...

He knew he was weeping as the Cyber leader towered over him.

"You will be able to view the fate of your companions soon," he informed him, indicating to two darkened screens on the wall, "You will be able to watch their suffering. Perhaps then you will realise the true might of the Cyber race."

Rebel blinked away tears he stared up at the Cyber Leader.

"You bastard," he said again, "What did you do to my child?"

The Cyber leader turned and walked out of the holding cell.

"_WHAT DID YOU DO?" _Rebel screamed, but the laser beams blazed across the doorway once again, sealing him inside the cell, and then he wept for Carla and the fate of his unborn child...


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Once again as Rebel fell silent, the only sound in the warm but darkened room was the crackle of the fire as it flickered.

Ace thought of Carla and now she got it, she knew why the Doctor had told her not to hate her...

"They _took _her unborn child?"

Rebel nodded.

"They took it like a spare part to use in their experiments. They did it without a shred of compassion because they had no understanding of emotion – but they gained satisfaction from it in their twisted way – it was not just another component in their experiments, it was a way of taking revenge on me, their oldest enemy. It was an act of darkest evil."

Alice drew in a slow breath, looking intently at Rebel as she spoke up.

"So that baby was my brother or sister... I mean, you're another regeneration of my Dad, the baby they stole was part of _my_ family..."

"Yes," Rebel replied, "And they ripped it from her womb. She didn't even know she was pregnant... and neither did I until that bastard told me what his scientists had done."

He picked up his drink and studied the contents as he blinked to clear his vision, and then he took another sip and put the glass back down on the table.

"Forgive me, Doctor, but I need a minute...this is very hard to talk about."

"Of course," he replied, "Take your time, Rebel. We have all night to listen."

And then the Doctor glanced at Ace, saw the look in her eyes and took hold of her hand, understanding at once that his request not hate Carla Bailey had finally got through to her: _It had got through because Ace had carried a child, she was a mother too..._

"I can't bear to think about it," she said, "How could they have done something so terrible?"

"Because they have no emotion," Rebel replied, "No compassion, nothing that identifies them with humanity. I've had one simple belief in all my lifetimes...to harm no life form, to do only good in the universe..." and then his voice darkened, "But _those_ bastards...I could happily wipe them out of existence and feel no pity and do it with no hesitation."

"So what happened next?" the Doctor asked him, "I'm wondering how you got out of that cell. Although resetting your shoulder like you did is quite impressive – but you had taken the blue and it must have killed a lot of the pain."

"It did," Rebel replied, "I couldn't have done that without being almost completely numb. Us Time Lords can take a lot, but we're not super heroes."

And he briefly smiled and so did the Doctor as he nodded in agreement.

"So yes, I did reset my arm and I was still standing despite being shot in the hip – but I was under the influence of the most powerful drug in the known universe. _It helped a lot._"

"And so you were left there in the cell," the Doctor replied, "No doubt plotting the death of the entire Cyber race."

"I certainly was," Rebel agreed, "I was in such a rage even the flickers of pain I felt from my wounds did little to distract me..."

And he cast his mind back to that terrible day so long ago, fighting back tears as memories jumped to life.

* * *

_Rage had swirled in his mind as the Cyber Leader had walked away._

As the beams crossed the doorway again he knew he was trapped, and the guard outside was armed, and there was a camera on him at all times. He had no hope of escaping from this room...

And then one of the monitors on the wall flickered to life.

He walked stiffly over to it, clutching at his aching hip as he stared at the image on the screen.

"_Riley?"_ he whispered, staring at the sight of his best friend, strapped to a table with his shirt sleeve pushed up. A line was running into his arm and fluid ran through it. Riley was shaking and sweating as he fought to stay conscious.

"They're killing him!" he said in a hushed voice, and then he noticed the microphone set beside the monitor...the Cybermen wanted him to watch this, they wanted to hear him speak to his dying friend...suddenly he understood his own role in their experiments, they wanted to torture him by studying his reaction to all that happened to those he cared about...

Knowing he was being used in this way was almost enough for Rebel to decide to remain silent, but then he heard Riley give a cry of pain and as he weakly struggled and then gave up, shaking as pain coursed through his body, he knew he could not be silent while his close friend suffered such agony.

"Riley," he said into the microphone, "I can see you...they've got me in a holding cell. I'm guarded and I can't get out...but you _can_ trust me. I will find a way to reach you...please hold on."

Riley drew in a sharp breath and then gave a sob.

"_They're killing me! It's too late, I'm a dead man!"_

Rebel's eyes stung with tears.

"Not yet. I'm still alive, and I intend to stay that way. You have to trust me, I will _never _abandon you!"

Riley's breathing was laboured.

"_I do...trust you..."_ he said weakly, and then his eyes closed as he slipped into unconsciousness and continued to shiver as the line pumped fluid into his body.

"I'm sorry..." Rebel whispered as he placed is hand against the screen and his hearts ached for his closest friend.

He thought about how far back their friendship had stretched - he had known Riley in his previous regeneration, first meeting him when he had met his sister Bella. After marrying her, he was glad to have the scientist and sometimes thief as his brother in law. The two of them had bonded so closely, it had been Riley who had dragged him on fire into the safety of the Tardis as the solar shields had failed and the planet had burned. Riley had gone off in his stolen time machine to scour the galaxy to find out the truth – that Bella and the kids really had perished on that terrible day...

Before Riley had come back into his life, everything had been a mess. He had been out of control after a difficult regeneration, and had often turned to drink and drugs out of sheer loneliness. Riley had made such a difference to his life.

_Riley was the brother he had never had..._

"I won't let you die," he said in a hushed voice, "I swear, I'll do what ever it takes..."

And then the screen turned dark, and he wanted to weep for the loss of the only link he had to his best friend, but he knew better than to shed tears while the camera was filming his every move to give the Cybermen the satisfaction of knowing he was suffering anguish.

* * *

Rebel turned away from the camera and leaned against the wall, cautiously rubbing at his aching hip. The pain was distant for now, but he knew when the T bomb wore off he would be unable to stand. The laser had cut a thin slice into his hip joint – and it could either be repaired by a laser seal to quick fix the damage – which would leave him limping for the rest of his days – or surgery to replace the whole joint with a cybernetic replacement, something that would take several weeks to get over, and he doubted if the Cybermen would give him either choice, because he was simply another toy to their emotionless minds – a thing to play with until it died, that was the way they saw him, and his companions, too...

He started to think of Carla and the baby and as pain filled his twin hearts he shoved that thought aside – now was _not _a time to grieve for his loss, because it had to wait.

Escape was his priority now - Carla and Riley had no hope without him...

He thought again about the guard outside the cell, then he looked at the laser beams that ran across the doorway:

_The sonic screwdriver could easily cut out the beam, but the guard was another matter..._

And then the other screen on the wall flickered and as he caught sight of Carla alone in another cell, he hurried to the screen as fast as his painful hip would allow and spoke into the microphone:

"Carla? Can you hear me, it's Rebel."

She looked around the cell but saw nothing, hearing only his voice.

"_Rebel I don't know what they've done to me..." _

Carla was tearful as she ran a shaking hand up her leg, then higher, beneath her skirt.

She drew her hand back again and gave a sob as she saw blood.

"_I'm bleeding and I don't know why...I don't know what they've done to me...Can these things...are they capable of -"_

"They are capable of many things," Rebel replied, and as he spoke he wondered just how much he ought to tell her – Carla was usually so calm and level headed, but now she was a terrified wreck and he knew it would do her no good at all to know the Cybermen had ended her pregnancy – she had known nothing about the baby...

"_I'm scared," _she said tearfully, _"They injected me with something and when I woke up I was in here and bleeding...have I been raped?"_

And then she gave another sob.

Rebel drew in a slow breath, trying to hold back on voicing too much hatred for his captors, because he was sure they would enjoy his distress.

"No," he said, clutching at his sore hip as another ache shot through it reminding him the effect of the T bomb would not hold off the pain of the laser wound forever, "No," he said again, "Believe me Carla, they have _not _ raped you. They can't rape, they've nothing to rape with! Cybermen are all machine. You do not have to fear being assaulted in that way – these creatures lost that urge long ago, along with their other basic physical instincts. "

She fell silent for a moment, thinking on all he had said, and then confusion clouded her eyes as she took in a sharp breath.

"Then they've done something else to me...I don't have any physical injuries that I can see or feel that can explain this...I'm bleeding..."

And then she gave a sob.

"_I think I missed a period...Oh God, no...if I was pregnant...I've lost it, I've miscarried..."_

Rebel blinked away tears as he stepped closer to the screen, wishing he could reach through it and take her in his arms. He silently weighed up the situation and made his decision:

_Carla was alone and terrified and had no real understanding of what had happened, and perhaps for now, it would be better that way..._

"Or maybe it's just a late period," he replied, "I'm sure if it was anything else the Cybermen would be _very_ interested - and you would certainly know about it. I'm guessing they knocked you out, examined you and then left you in the cell."

She gave another sob, but this time relief shone in her eyes.

"Do you think so? Do you really think that's what happened?"

He forced a brief smile.

"Of course! Now pull yourself together, Dr Bailey – you can be a force to be reckoned with, don't fall apart on me now. And don't be afraid of those walking talking piles of junk, either!"

"I'm trying to pull myself together!"

"Well hurry up and do it – where's your PMT when you need it? Right now I'd imagine that would be a formidable weapon...these creatures have _no_ idea what a woman can be like when her hormones go into over drive!"

And she was still crying, but she laughed.

"You crazy man...I love you, Rebel."

"I love you too," he replied, "Now pull yourself together. _Nothing_ has happened, okay?"

She was still tearful as she nodded.

"Nothing has happened... I believe you...I can do this...I can cope with it...get me out of here, please!"

"Shh..." he said, "The monitor speaker system is no place for such a conversation. Just sit down, rest and wait."

"Wait?"

"Just wait. _I'm_ waiting..."

And then he saw a spark of understanding in her eyes – she knew he was waiting for the right opportunity to hatch an escape plan.

"I'm waiting here," she replied, "I'm going to sit down and do nothing and just wait..."

"Good girl," he said, and then the screen went dark.

Rebel turned away and gave a weary sigh.

He thought of the two people he loved most in the world and reasoned Carla's condition was not life threatening, she had very little bleeding and her worst concern was the fear that she had lost a baby – and thankfully, he had been able to convince her that was not the case. He didn't doubt when this nightmare was over – if it _was _ever over – he would tell her the truth because she had a right to know, and it would not be easy to see her go through such pain and grief, but he couldn't lie forever about the fate of his own child. When this was over, he would tell her everything...

But his most urgent concern was Riley, who was already being used as part of an experiment, and suffering to such a degree that he could not begin to guess the outcome...

_He would have to get Riley out first..._

But before he could start saving others, he had to break out of the cell, and then there was the matter of getting the Tardis power back on and free from the control of the Cyber ship...

_It seemed so impossible._

He had been in situations like this before, but never in such a tight spot there seemed no way out...

_There had to be a way, it just wasn't yet obvious to him..._

* * *

Rebel leaned back in his comfortable armchair by the fire and gave a heavy sigh.

"It was impossible," he said, "I could see no way out."

"Me neither," the Doctor replied, "I can usually think of something in a situation like that – but with the Tardis on lock down... No, I can't imagine how you got out of that one."

Ace had been sitting beside her husband listening in silence, but now she spoke up.

"It must have been very difficult," she said, "I mean, you couldn't have told Carla the truth while she was being held prisoner like that – your hearts must have been breaking."

"Yes," Rebel replied, "But I was thinking about her keeping her sanity in a difficult and dangerous situation. I couldn't have told her the truth then, while she was locked in the holding cell and terrified for her life."

"So what happened?" the Doctor asked him.

And Rebel got up stiffly, grabbed his cane and used his other hand to lift the empty tea pot from the coffee table.

"I think I'll make the tea this time," he said, "And I'll have one myself, too – can't drink scotch all night, I''ll end up drunk that will do me no good at all after going over all this...I feel as if I'm digging up old graves."

"I'm sorry," Alice said quickly, "If you don't want to talk about it -"

Rebel smiled.

"I do want to talk about it, because there's so much more to tell," he replied, "And I will talk about it – _after_ I've made the tea."

And then he left the room.

For a moment no one spoke a word, and then the Doctor broke the silence.

"It's not easy listening to any of this," he said to Ace, "The more I hear, the more I'm thankful we never came across any situation we couldn't handle. I can't imagine how I would feel if the Cybermen had you and -"

"And they took away my baby?"

The Doctor nodded.

Then a sudden thought came to mind and Ace asked him a question.

"Professor, if it had been you and me in that situation, would you have lied to me like Rebel did to Carla?"

He gave a sigh.

"I don't know," he said honestly, "Maybe...a situation like that is no place to find out you've lost a baby, is it... I can't imagine how he handled it and kept himself together. I know he'd taken the T bomb, but that stuff doesn't block everything, and something on _that_ scale..."

"But he's still here," Alice said as she looked to her parents, "He made it, he survived. He handled it because he had to, he had no other choice."

The Doctor nodded.

"That's a good point, Alice. Survival instinct can be very strong, it can carry a person through almost anything..."

And then he fell silent as Rebel returned with a pot of tea.

He set it down on the table and then left the room again, returning with a china cup on a matching saucer, he set it down on the table and then sat down again, pausing to stir the black tea as the scent of lemon filled the air.

"This might come as a shock but I don't drink much these days...not like I used to. Still have the odd binge now and then, but I don't really get out much."

"Do you feel safer staying here on Earth?" Alice asked him.

"Definitely," he replied, "Although after what happened on the day the Cybermen took us, I doubt if I can ever feel truly safe again. We just didn't see it coming, it was so unexpected. One minute I was planning my engagement to Carla and the next..."

He fell silent.

"And the next thing you knew, the Cybermen had you and those you loved and they took away a child you knew nothing about," the Doctor added.

Rebel nodded.

He paused to look into the flickering fire, and then as he turned back to the Doctor and the others, sadness shaded his eyes.

"If she had known she was pregnant, I think the truth would have been too much for her to bear. But I managed to persuade her she was mistaken, and that was certainly a blessing because it brought her some relief... for the short time that it mattered."

"What do you mean?" Ace asked in a hushed voice.

"I think we should just let Rebel explain. He has a story to tell and questions will only draw it out for him. So tell us what happened next."

Rebel met the Doctor's gaze with a haunted look in his eyes.

"_It got much worse..."_

And as he continued to tell his tale, his hearts felt heavy as he recalled painful memories.

* * *

He was still trapped in the holding cell, watching as the lasers barred his escape route.

_And then the beams suddenly disappeared._

Rebel stared, then he blinked, seeing no guard outside, just an open escape route... it had to be a trap...

And then as an armed Cyberman gave his prisoner a shove, Rebel reached out, catching Riley in his arms as his best friend sank to his knees.

"What have you done to him?" he demanded, but the guard said nothing, stepping out of the doorway and activating the beams once more.

Riley was still on his knees and too weak to stand. He was sweating heavily and his shirt sleeve was rolled up, exposing a large needle mark that leaked blood.

"_Rebel..." _he said weakly, _"Help me...I'm dying..."_

He dragged him over to the wall and sat him up against it.

Riley drew in a slow breath and closed his eyes.

"I have never felt so sick in my life," he groaned, and then he fell forward, and puked on the floor.

Rebel grabbed a handkerchief from Riley's pocket and wiped his mouth with it, sitting him upright again. Riley leaned heavily against the wall, blinking to clear his vision as he fought against weakness.

"I don't know what they've done to me," he said breathlessly, "But they've dumped me in here with you...for a reason...I...I think I'm going to die here..."

Rebel ran his hand over Riley's sweat-soaked hair and looked into his eyes.

He didn't know why the Cybermen had experimented on Riley and then placed him in his cell, he hoped Riley's theory was wrong – but at the same time, he reasoned it would be fitting for the Cybermen to leave him here like this, to force their enemy the Doctor to watch helplessly as his companion died...

Riley's breathing began to slow as he closed his eyes, as he slumped forward Rebel sat beside him, put his arm around him and cradled him as he silently hoped Riley's theory was wrong.

"You won't die," he said softly, "I don't know what they've done to you but -" then he stopped, recalling what the Cyber Leader had told him.

"Of course you won't die! The Cyber leader said they plan to study you indefinitely! That sounds like a long time, it certainly doesn't imply the serum will be fatal!"

And Riley opened his eyes. He was still resting with his head on his shoulder, he still felt weak and he was continuing to sweat, but he started to smile.

"So I'm not dying...great, that means I just _feel_ like I'm dying..."

He drew in a couple more breaths and then sat up, but leaned heavily against the wall.

"I wonder what they did to me?" his eyes widened, "What was in that stuff they put in my arm?"

"I don't know," Rebel told him, "They don't trust me, they wouldn't tell me something like that..."

Riley gave a gasp as his memory started to come back.

"Wait...they said to me it was an experiment to stretch out the use of remaining human tissue in a Cyber body...but they had to treat all of me, not just my brain...what have they done, Rebel?"

His voice was filled with panic as he clutched at his sleeve.

"Rebel, _think!_ What does that mean?"

"I don't know...let me see...Cybermen are all machine apart from a small amount of human brain cells..." he snapped his fingers, _"I've got it!"_

And Riley stared at him.

"I'm happy for you!" he snapped, "Come on, share the theory!"

Rebel paused for a moment as he continued to silently work it out.

"Right...I think you''ll understand it if I put it in simple terms -"

"I'm not _that_ bloody simple, mate – I'm a qualified toxicologist, I've piloted my own time machine and I'm a capable and confident thief amongst my _many_ other talents!"

"I know – and you're starting to sound more like Riley again, that's great, you're getting over it already..."

"_Just tell me what's happened to me!"_

Rebel explained quickly:

"The Cybermen kept back a part of their human brains...not much, but a necessary, functional part. Well eventually, over time, the cells begin to die off. So they need to find a way to stop that from happening – and they won't want to sacrifice their own kind for such an experiment. My guess is, they treated you with the serum, and they'll study you for a while, and then they'll want to remove the basic functional part of the brain and implant it into someone who has had parts removed to simulate a dying Cyber mind..."

His eyes widened as he gave a gasp.

"Carla... I think they're going to use Carla for that...we have to get to her -"

He made a move to get up, but Riley grabbed at his shoulder, pulling him back to his knees as he looked at him in wild-eyed panic.

"Carla in danger, great, I get it, let's make a plan. But _first_, Rebel – _TELL ME WHAT THEY'VE DONE TO ME!_"

Rebel stared at him.

Didn't I make it clear?"

"No," Riley said as he struggled to control emotions that swung from panic to anger and back again, "What have they done, Rebel?"

"_I thought I made it clear," _he told him,_ "They've given you a formula to halt your ageing process – I'm guessing with their kind of technology, if we get out of this alive, you can expect to live for at least another five hundred years – and you'll never age. I hope you like being the wrong side of forty, because you're stuck with it forever. You will never grow old..."_


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Riley was feeling stronger now.

He stared at Rebel as his words began to sink in.

"I can't age? That's got to be a good thing...no, wait – what's this about the Cybermen taking a part of my brain out? Which part, a part I need?"

Rebel gave a sigh of despair.

"They would definitely destroy your mind in the process. They would keep you physically alive but clinically dead to study your body to see how the anti ageing process works."

"So it's not such a good thing - unless we can get out of here..."

"Right."

Riley was no longer leaning against the wall and all trace of weakness had rapidly left him, and as he started to smile and his eyes glittered madly, Rebel got a sinking feeling that he was about to come out with a plan, and of course, it would be flawed...

Rebel spoke again in a hushed voice, turning his face away from the camera.

"You have that look in your eyes, Riley... they have us on audio. I suspect at standard volume...they know me, they're expecting me to shout and curse at the top of my voice...besides, their interest now lies with other matters.."

Riley looked at him in confusion.

"What other matters?"

Rebel glanced quickly at the camera and turned back to Riley.

"Grab hold of me, you're in pain."

"What?"

"Just do it."

Riley gave a cry of pain and Rebel grabbed him, pulling him close, sliding his hands through his hair as he kept him pinned against his shoulder, allowing room to whisper in his ear:

"_Do not react to this. No shouting no rage, nothing...we can't afford to be caught...Listen to me – Carla was pregnant. She didn't know. The Cybermen aborted the baby."_

And as he held him tightly Riley gave a sharp sob, clinging harder to Rebel.

"_They killed it?"_ he whispered tearfully, _"No, you've lost two kids already...not a third one...Uncle Riley's going to make them pay for this..."_

His voice was broken as he gave another sob.

Rebel held him firmly, stroking his hair.

"Calm down," he said aloud, "I'm sure this serum won't cause you pain forever..."

And then he turned his head, his lips closer to Riley's ear:

"Carla doesn't know – _yet_. Keep it that way! Now, this plan of yours – I want to hear it..."

Riley reached up and wiped his eyes, remembered to keep his voice low and whispered:  
"They located me and Carla and identified us as human...and you as Time Lord. What if they're wrong?_ I could be a Time Lord too_..."

And Rebel let go of him, looking at him in utter confusion.

"What?"

Riley kept his voice low, turning from the camera as he leaned closer to Rebel.

"You need a distraction. I'm feeling okay now... I'm up for this. _I'm you, you're me. I'm going to tell them that._"

Rebel looked into his eyes.

"This is insane and highly dangerous."

"Ah, but I'm counting on you to make a big impressive escape, Rebel."

"So no pressure on me then...I didn't think I'd like the sound of your plan but I don't think we have an alternative yet...the minute I make a break for it, you grab any kind of detachable weaponry you can, go for the upper laser on the guard's forearm – twist and click and it's out. It's a removable power unit and will serve as a powerful laser gun – it's got a button that serves as a trigger."

"What about you?"

"I've got my screw driver. I'll grab my own weapon along the way – but what I need to do most of all is to get to their main control and shut down the power. As soon as it's down, the Tardis functions will come back to life including shields and control over the space time activator. I need a pilot in the Tardis for me, Riley. You know the basic function."

"You want me to make a run for it and get back to the Tardis?"

Rebel nodded.

"I'll go and get Carla. I just hope I'm not too late."

"And what about this ship?" Riley whispered.

Rage burned like blue flame in Rebel's eyes.

"If I can lock on to the signal that transmits to all Cybermen, I can use the Tardis to lock on to it and send out a pulse that will shatter the link. It should, in theory, take out most of them – I can't say it will take them all, because it will only last for seven seconds as the Tardis engine fires up and I activate the pulse – but it should be enough."

"That's a good plan," Riley replied, "Based on the fact that before, we had no plan at all – anything's worth a shot."

"And you have to move fast," he told him, "Because this place will be on lock down as soon as they know prisoners have escaped."

Riley gave him a brief hug.

"Good luck, mate."

"I'll need it!" Rebel leaned against the wall as he got up, feeling pain in his wounded hip.

Riley got up from the floor needing no help, looking rapidly recovered.

"And now, Rebel," he said, "I think it's time to play a little game..."

* * *

Riley looked up at the camera.

"Let's see if they _really_ know who the Doctor is!" he announced.

And then he went over to the doorway and called to the guard.

"He's got two hearts because he's from Gallifrey. But he's not the Time Lord. _I am_. You missed that, you over modified lump of scrap metal!"

The guard turned to the doorway and killed the laser beams that sealed it.

Riley was looking at the creature with a mad gleam in his eyes, and Rebel watched, hoping his plan would work – because if it went wrong, Riley was dead for sure...

"You will both come with me to speak with the Cyber Leader," the guard said, keeping his weapon trained on them as they stepped out of the cell.

Rebel looked up and down the empty corridor and then glanced at Riley, who gave a brief nod.

"You see _I'm_ the Time Lord," Riley said to the Cyberman, "But I'm a mutant...that's why I've only got one heart. Mutant Riley the Fourteenth Doctor, that's me. _And...Oooh...I like your built in removable laser weapon -_"

He made a grab for the weapon, twisting as Rebel had told him. The Cyberman staggered back, lashed out with a solid steel arm and Rebel ducked as he heard a click and the weapon slid free.

Riley jammed the butt of the laser beneath the metallic chin of the Cyberman.

"_Your people stole his kid!"_ he hissed as rage blazed in his eyes, and he gave the button a sharp push.

A low volume charge cracked as a thin beam shot out and the Cyberman's electronic cry was cut off sharply as the blast severed its head, sending it clattering heavily to the floor.

The body swayed as fluid spurted from the neck, marring the otherwise perfect polished metal body, and then the headless machine crashed to the floor.

Riley glanced at Rebel.

"Maybe I'm sort of right in a way – I mean, if I'm half immortal...I could be a _sort _of Time Lord..."

"You can't regenerate, you don't have two hearts..you're _not _a time lord, Riley...your own life span had been extended...you're not ...What's _half immortal_ supposed to mean anyway? There's no time – get back to the Tardis, I'm going to find Carla!"

Then Rebel ran off up the corridor, turning a corner and heading deeper into the Cyber ship.

* * *

As he paused again in the middle of his tale and the fire crackled warmly and glowed in the fireplace, while the dim lights made the Christmas decorations seem dark instead of bright and cheerful, the Doctor and Ace said nothing. It was Alice who spoke up first.

"So Riley helped you get out of there. And then you went your separate ways. Did he get there? Did he make it to the Tardis?"

Rebel turned his head and looked at her with sorrow in his eyes.

"Eventually," he said quietly, "By then much had happened – I heard the alarm sound and I knew the ship was on red alert, so I kept running until I reached a corridor that led to a lab complex... I saw armed guards turning a corner and ducked into an open doorway... I waited, they passed me, I checked the corridor was empty and I slipped out again, I went looking for Carla."

"Did you find her?"

As his eyes filled with tears she wished she had not asked that question.

"Oh no," Alice said in a hushed voice, "What happened, Rebel?"

He drew in a slow breath, blinking away tears as he composed himself and held back the tears that sprang to his eyes at the memory of a moment when events had taken another terrible turn...

"I went down the corridor...half the ship was on lock down, but not in the research area. I saw Carla being taken into a lab. She was terrified...my theory was right, they were planning to use her as part of the experiment. Nothing had happened to her yet, but I knew I had to act fast..."

And more pain reflected in his eyes as he continued to relate his tale in a hushed voice, recalling yet another painful event that had happened on the day that changed everything...

* * *

_Two guards had just taken Carla into a lab._

Rebel watched as she was placed in a separate room and the doorway was laser sealed, and then they left the lab.

He hurried over to the doorway and hit the seal with a blast from his sonic screwdriver. The door slid back and he went inside, turned the screwdrivers setting up and went over to the sealed room.

Carla looked at him in surprise.

"Rebel? How did you -"

"Long story..." he was working on the laser mechanism as he replied, "Riley confused a guard saying he was the Doctor, not me! It bought us enough time to over come the guard, Riley has now grabbed himself a Cyber manufactured laser gun, very good for blowing holes in Cybermen - and he's on his way back to the Tardis...I have to shut down the ships power – stop it and leave them to restart their systems, it will give Riley enough time to gain control of the Tardis for me, and then I can hit them where it hurts and get us out of here."

And then he grabbed her hand.

"This isn't going to be easy, Carla. I have to find us another way back down to the cargo hold...let's go."

He kept a tight hold of her hand as they left the lab and ran up the corridor.

They reached a lift and Rebel stopped, quickly scanning the map beside it.

"Got it!" he said, "We go down four levels and it takes us back – but we will have to go all the way through the length of the hold to find the Tardis again..."

And then they heard the crash of heavy metallic footsteps marching towards them.

Carla spun around sharply, giving a gasp as she saw the metal men approaching them, guns poised.

"They've got us!" she said tearfully.

Rebel stared at the sight of the armed guards and the Cyber Leader, who were rapidly approaching them.

"Do not move, Doctor!" he said, "Or we will kill the woman."

"Rebel, I want you to run!" she said tearfully, "Just go!"

"No," he told her, "I won't leave you."

And he fixed his gaze on the Cyber Leader and showed not a flicker of fear as the enemy surrounded them.

"I asked you to let the woman go," Rebel said again, "You have me, you have a Time Lord – I'm of much more use than my companions could ever be!"

And as the blank, expressionless face of the Cyber Leader looked back at him, Rebels twin hearts raced with fear he did not dare to show.

"Let her go," he said again, "You can have me, I won't fight you. I won't resist."

The Cyber Leader turned to a nearby guard.

"_Kill the woman."_

"NO!" Rebel shouted, but he was grabbed by strong steel arms and held back as the Cyberman seized Carla in a crushing grip and hurled her against the wall.

There was a sharp crack as her head hit the wall, and then she slid to the floor pale and still as blood ran from beneath her.

For a moment the world seemed frozen as Rebel stared at the sight of Carla on the floor and bleeding, she was pale and still and knowing the force the Cybermen were capable of, he already guessed the blow had shattered her skull – Carla was dying.

"Let me go to her," he said tearfully, "Just let me hold her..."

_And then the lift door slid open and a bleeping sounded in a slow rhythm. _

Rebel heard the sound and as it increased, the Cyberman who was holding him back released his grip and the air was filled with the metallic groans of the Cyber Leader and his guards as they swayed, disoriented, putting hands to their metal heads as the noise continued.

"Shame it's just a mimic of what your Tardis can do," a voice said behind him, "But it buys us some time..I'm feeding this through out the sound system, we've got ten minutes..."

And Rebel turned around, blinking as tears ran down his face.

A man stepped out of the lift:

He was tall with dark hair and blue-green eyes and wore a smart black suit with a bright yellow polka dot shirt. The man was no older than twenty-five, and as he looked past the groaning Cybermen and saw Carla on the floor, he looked back at Rebel with sadness in his eyes.

"I'm so sorry. I wanted to get here sooner, but I had to set the pulse mimic to stop the Cybermen – I was hoping this could be avoided...perhaps not everything can be avoided, or rewritten..."

Rebel stared at him.

"Who are you?"

"We can't waste time. We have ten minutes."

Rebel ran past the groaning, swaying Cybermen and lifted Carla from the floor.

As he carried her in his arms back to the lift, the back of her head soaked his shirt sleeve in blood.

* * *

They went into the lift and the doors closed sharply and the lift began to descend.

"I'm taking us back to the cargo hold," he said, "We should be able to get the ship up and running when the power goes down – Cyber controls should fail pretty soon because every Cyberman on this ship will be screaming by now and unable to maintain the systems..."

Carla felt like a dead weight in his arms as her blood continued to soak through his shirt.

"Who are you?" Rebel asked again.

"The name's Christian," he replied, "I'm an intergalactic special agent – historical crimes division – I get to go back and help to right wrongs of the past – I _love_ my job!"

"You're a time traveller?"

Christian pushed his sleeve up and revealed a sleek black and gold watch, the face had an internal dial set in its centre and a light glowed within.

"I've got four hours," he said, "Then I'm going back whether I like it or not – I'll do what I can to help..."

"You've already done more than enough," Rebel promised him, and then pain throbbed in his hip and he drew in a slow breath, feeling thankful for the T bomb that had killed the worst of the pain.

Then he looked sharply at Christian, he had felt his eyes on him and sure enough, the young man was staring at him.

"What?" he said.

"I want to give you some advance information," he said, "Every decision you make from this day on is the right one. I know your history. Your life used to be in such a mess. But that all changes from today."

Carla felt dead as he held her still body in his arms, even though she was faintly breathing.

"Yes, it just gets worse," Rebel said quietly.

"No, I don't mean it like that – you'll be okay. I just want you to know that."

Rebel stared at him.

"What are you trying to tell me?"

"If I say any more I'm out of a job," he replied, "And I'm not losing the best job in the universe!"

And then the doors opened.

They stepped out into an empty cargo hold, but as he checked left and right, Christian drew out a laser pistol.

"It looks clear. It probably is, half the ship went on lock down when you got out of the holding cell...plus it's now an emergency... and we still have five minutes to start up the Tardis."

Rebel's hip was throbbing again and his injured arm ached as he carried Carla through the hold towards the Tardis.

"We have to wait for Riley."

"Ah yes – Laurence Riley – Larry... he won't be long, Rebel."

"You've certainly done your research," Rebel said.

"All part of my job," Christian replied.

* * *

They reached the Tardis and Rebel carried Carla inside, Christian followed him in and they hurried up the Tardis corridor, then Rebel opened the door of his room and carried her inside, laying her gently on his bed.

She was motionless and blood continued to run through her hair. It was also running from her nose, and her ear...

"She's dying," he said quietly as he turned her on her side.

And he turned back to Christian, silently demanding the truth, but Christian simply checked his watch.

"_Three minutes, Rebel – we need to power up the Tardis."_

And then he left the room and Rebel paused to clutch at his aching hip, then he hurried back down the corridor towards the console room.

* * *

When Rebel walked into the room he stared at Christian, who had started up Tardis systems, brought back shields and was now entering the code to send out a pulse to kill every Cyberman on board the Cyber ship.

"How did you know -"

"History's great," Christian replied, "If you know what's coming, you know what to do about it..."

And the console lit up and the familiar hum of the Tardis filled the room.

"I think you want to activate that pulse, Doctor," he reminded him.

Rebel hit the button.

Then as he leaned against the console in his blood stained shirt, he looked at Christian.

"_I just sent out a death pulse to destroy countless Cybermen and I heard and saw nothing. But I certainly feel a sense of revenge."_

"So you should," Christian replied, and Rebel noticed he still held his gun.

"We won't need that now."

"We might," he said, "They won't die instantly..and if there was a Cyberman who managed to get down here the same way we did...no, I have to be cautious. I'm setting a flight plan for the distant future, Rebel. You'll get out of here and shift to another time – I'll send an SOS and you'll be heard by a passing ship. That ship will take you to the Earth colony planet of Sabra."

Rebel stared at him again.

"_Sabra?"_

"Five hundred years after you last visited, it's got an excellent medical centre there. It's Carla's best chance."

"Will she live?"

Christian looked down at the console.

"I can't tell you that."

"Just _tell _me, I love her! Does she live or die, Christian?"

He looked up from the console and saw tears in Rebel's eyes.

"Please," he said, "I have to know. The Cybermen have already killed our unborn child!"

"_No they haven't."_

Rebel turned from the console to see Riley standing in the open doorway.

_"They were planning to experiment on the baby once it was full term. I went over to their other lab and found your kid – nine months old and unharmed. "_

And he walked into the Tardis, carrying a baby wrapped in a white blanket.

He placed the child in Rebel's arms, and in that moment as he looked at his child through a blur of tears, he swore all the pain from his wounds faded away.

"It's a boy," Riley said, "You've got a son, Rebel."

And Rebel looked into the eyes of his son and saw Carla reflected there, and he studied his face and his dark hair and then held him close as more tears ran down his face.

Then Riley looked to Christian.

"Who are you?"

"Intergalactic security, historical crimes division."

"Thanks for your help," Riley replied, "We wouldn't be getting out of here alive without you."

And Christian smiled too.

"I'm happy to help," he replied, and then his smile faded.

"Carla's hurt. Bad head injury."

Rebel was looking down at the child he cradled in his arms.

"We have to leave now – there's not much time...I don't think Carla's going to make it."

"I'll close the doors," Riley said, and hurried over to the open Tardis door.

"_Wait!" _Christian yelled, but then a laser shot rang out, throwing Riley off his feet as he landed heavily on his back on the floor of the console room.

Christian ran to the door and fired shot after shot into the dying Cyberman as it staggered closer to the Tardis. Then he slammed the doors and went back to the console.

"_Riley..."_

Rebel was standing over his best friend, who had been hit in the face by the laser blast.

Christian activated the time controls, and the there was a wheeze and groan and the Tardis disappeared from the cargo hold of the Cyber ship, off into another time and place.

Rebel was still standing there, holding his son in his arms as he looked down at Riley, who was unconscious, his face was partly scorched and his left eye had been burned out as blood ran from the socket.

"Send that SOS..."

"Done," Christian replied, flipping a switch.

Rebel could hear him talking into the comm system and then a ship replied, offering to take the Tardis to Sabra.

"We can just materialise there, we don't need to board the ship," Rebel said quietly.

"Thank you, we are coming over," Christian replied, and then he set the co ordinates with ease, and threw a switch.

"We have to board the ship," he replied, "It's a medical ship. Carla and Riley need help this minute..._not _in five minutes time."

And the Doctor continued to hold his baby son in his arms as he thought of his lover and his best friend, both critically injured...

"Can you stay for a while longer?" he asked Christian.

"I've still got three hours before I have to go back," he replied, "I'll go with you – but it might be better for you to have the hip joint replaced instead of filled with cybernetic sealant. That's no true repair, you'll be limping for the rest of your life."

"And my best friend and my fiancée need me – so does my son. I don't have time for major surgery."

"So _that's_ why you left it," Christian said, and Rebel wanted to know what he meant by that remark, but then the Tardis landed on board the ship that would take them to Sabra, and all he could think of was Riley and Carla as he wondered if the two people he loved most in his life would live or die...


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

The room was silent once more as Rebel paused, gathering his thoughts.

The Doctor and Ace were waiting for the rest of the tale. But it was Alice who spoke up first, unable to wait any longer.

"What happened to him? Tell me what happen to my brother! Where is he?"

"_Alice..."_

She looked to her father. The Doctor had used that same tone of voice he often used when reminding Ace she needed to slow down on her demand for answers.

"But I want to know, Dad!"

"Let Rebel explain in his own time."

And the Doctor looked at him with interest.

"There's so much more, I just know it..."

"Yes there is," Rebel replied quietly, "And none of this is easy to recall... We took the Tardis over to the rescue ship. Then they took Carla and Riley and tended to them until we got to Sabra. Then I moved the Tardis to the medical centre and while Riley and Carla were taken to the emergency room I handed my son over to one of the nurses, who promised to take care of him until I got my hip fixed..."

"She had better have looked after him!" Alice said, "If she didn't look after my brother -"

Rebel briefly smiled.

"She took great care of him, Alice!" he assured her, and then he continued:

"I had a ten minute, very painful procedure, a cybernetic seal shot through the wound to bond the damaged bone. Two hours later I was up and walking with a cane – and in very little pain thanks to strong pain relief - and then I went to see my son, and found him fed and sleeping well, so I went back to find out how Riley and Carla were doing. The doctors had already spoken to Christian, and he explained to me. _There was no good news_."

Then he paused again, drawing in a slow breath as the memories came back, along with heartache that felt fresh as yesterday...

* * *

Rebel had taken one look into the eyes of the man who had helped him to rescue those he cared about, and he knew the news was going to be bad.

"I've heard," Christian said quietly, "You'd better come with me and sit down, Rebel."

"I don't want to sit down! Just tell me -"

Christian put his hand on his shoulder and walked with him, steering him to a private room at the end of the corridor.

"You've just had surgery to fix that hip. You need to sit down anyway."

Rebel entered the room, gave a sigh and sat down on a couch by the window, and Christian sat beside him.

"It's not good news," he said quietly, "Riley is currently in having a cybernetic eye implant and reconstructive surgery, but he's very weak. The cybernetic treatment is the only way to save his life, but he may not survive the procedure."

Rebel's eyes filled with tears.

"And Carla?"

Christian reached over and took hold of Rebel's hand.

"Carla has suffered terrible head injuries. She's still in surgery, but the most likely out come will be that she will not be able to regain consciousness as her injuries currently stand."

Rebel's eyes clouded with confusion.

"Currently?"

"When she's out of surgery, the doctors are going to monitor her for a few days, and ultimately the choice will be yours. They are developing a cybernetic brain implant that could bring her back, but it's not ready yet, its still in the design phase. It could take between eight to ten years before she could have the implant. That would mean putting her into cryogenic sleep until the time comes and she can be cured. But even then she will still have brain damage, although it will be much less than you would expect because the implant will replace most of the damaged tissue they plan to remove."

Rebel blinked and tears ran down his face. He brushed them away and looked into Christian's eyes.

"You said there was a choice. Put her to sleep for _ten_ years? There has to be another way!"

"The only other choice you have in this situation is to have her life support turned off and to let her go, Rebel. There is no third option."

He drew in a sharp breath and shook his head.

"Sounds like I'm losing her what ever I decide."

"But the cryosleep will preserve her until she can be revived and have the implant."

"She's critically injured. She may not revive. I could wait ten years and find all I've delayed is her funeral!"

"It's her only chance and only you can make that choice," Christian replied, "I can't tell you what to do."

Rebel glared at him.

"But you _know_ what happens! Tell me!"

"I can't. Trust me when I say you make the right decision. That's all I can say."

"But I need to know -"

"_Excuse me, Mr...Rebel?"_

He leaned on his cane and got up quickly, looking into the eyes of the female Doctor whose confident manner reminded him a little of Carla – at least, how Carla used to be...

"Please give me some good news," he said.

"Your fiancée is still in surgery, but Laurence Riley came through his procedure very well and he's stabilising - and will now make a rapid recovery due to the cybernetic surgery. He's just woken up and he asked for you."

Rebel drew in a shaken breath and blinked away tears of sheer relief.

"Riley's made it..."

Christian nodded.

"He's going to be fine," he promised, "Believe me when I say the doctor's right about that."

"I want to see him right away."

"Of course," the doctor replied, and she led him up the corridor, and Christian followed.

* * *

Riley was on his back with his eyes closed.

The only sign to indicate he had been injured at all was the fact that he now had a black eye – bruising caused by the cybernetic reconstruction.

"How are you?"

_Riley opened his eyes._

And both his eyes looked human, there were no outward signs to suggest his lost eye had been replaced with a robotic substitute...

"I think I got hit in the face by a Cyberman. The bastard got me, I remember..."

Rebel briefly smiled.

"But you're going to be fine. You've had your eye replaced and the wounds closed up cybernetically – you look like you did before it happened. There's no outward sign of any damage."

Riley took in a slow breath and blinked a few times.

"I can see okay...who _is_ this?" As he asked that question he was staring at the man who stood beside Rebel.

"My name's Christian," he told him.

"Yeah.,..I remember, special agent... time travelling cop... thanks for your help. And thanks for helping my mate here, I bet he needed it too!"

"I was hoping to avoid Carla's injury, and you getting shot. But it didn't work out that way."

"You can't change everything.," Riley reminded him, and then as pain nagged at his eye and a headache started up he closed his eyes, drawing in a sharp breath.

"I need some pain relief... help me..."

"I'll fetch the nurse," Rebel said, and briefly left the room, feeling a flicker of panic for his best friend. He knew cybernetic repair surgeries were flawless and had a rapid recovery period, but post operative pain would still be an issue at least for now...

* * *

When Rebel returned, he stood anxiously at his bedside and watched as the nurse adjusted his pain relief.

"He's going to be fine," Christian said quietly, and it was then Rebel noticed something – Christian was holding Riley's hand.

"I stayed with him while you were gone," he told him, "He's coping okay..."

"Thanks for looking after him," Rebel said.

Riley was starting to drift into a drugged sleep.

"He'll be feeling much better by tomorrow," Christian reminded him, and then he checked his watch.

"I have to leave soon, my time's up..."

Rebel shook his hand.

"Thank you for your help," he said, and Christian smiled.

"It was an honour to be here, I wish I could have done more."

The Rebel looked again at Christian, and noticed something.

"That shirt you're wearing...this sounds crazy, but I've seen it before...I think?"

"It's vintage," Christian replied, and then he glanced back at Riley.

"Would you mind if I said goodbye to your friend?"

Rebel shook his head.

"Of course not..."

"Thank you," Christian replied, and then he walked over to the other side of Riley's bed, and leaned over him. He briefly covered his hand with his own, and whispered five words into his ear.

_And Rebel heard him._

As Christian stepped back from the bed, Rebel stared at him in disbelief.

"You just said..."

Christian checked his watch as it started to glow.

"Sorry, my time's up..."

Rebel blinked back tears.

_"But you're -"_

And warmth shone in Christian's eyes.

_"You'll see me again,"_ he promised, _"I'm already with you, Dad..."_

And then he shimmered, and faded from sight...

* * *

As Rebel paused to blink away tears as he recalled the memory, he smiled at the Doctor and Ace who sat there staring in surprise.

"You mean he was..." Alice was wide eyed, "Christian is -"

_"My son,"_ Rebel replied, _"he grew up to be a special agent for the inter galactic crimes division, and chose to come back to the point in his life when he was born, to try and save Carla and Riley – as well as helping me to get out of a mess."_

The Doctor looked at him thoughtfully.

"But you knew he was your son before he called you Dad. What did he say, what five words did he say to Riley that revealed the truth?"

Rebel blinked away more tears as he smiled, recalling the memory like yesterday:

"He said, _I love you, Uncle Larry_."

Ace's jaw dropped for a moment as she thought about it.

"So Christian was stolen from Carla's womb, grown into a new born baby by the Cybermen, rescued by Riley and then he grew up to become a cop and travelled back in time to help you out?"

And Rebel smiled proudly.

"That's exactly what he did, Ace. Or should I say, it's what he's _going_ to do. At this point in time, he's sixteen years old with ambition of becoming a time traveller."

The Doctor smiled too.

"So there was a happy ending?"

And then Alice asked a question:

"What happened to them, after Christian left? What happened to Riley and Carla?"

And Rebel paused for a moment, sadness reflecting in his eyes. Then as he continued to relate his tale, it was clear there was no perfect ending at all...

* * *

After two days, Riley's pain finally faded and he was well enough to go back to the Tardis, where he disappeared into his room and came out fifteen minutes later wearing a dark blue suit decorated with chains and clockwork cogs and a bright orange shirt covered with black printed images of pocket watches. He secured the last of his many jewelled rings on his fingers, and then he smiled.

"I look fine and I feel fine," he announced, "And no matter how hard I poke it, that eye doesn't feel robotic..."

"_Don't poke it!"_ Rebel exclaimed, "You've still got a black eye...well, it's fading but it's still there."

"And that will be gone in the next couple of days. I've been lucky."

Then he gave a sigh.

"I wish I could say the same for Carla."

And at the mention of her name, Rebel blinked away tears.

"They were right," he said quietly, "All I can do is have her put into cryogenic suspension...there's no other way. But I feel like I'm killing her!"

Riley looked into his eyes.

"Listen mate," he said, "You're doing the right thing – it's the only chance she's got."

His words meant little as Rebel thought of Carla, locked in a frozen chamber for the next ten years...

"But what about our son? I don't think I can cope with this...A short while ago I was planning my engagement. Now my fiancée's between life and death and I have a baby son to raise." There was a flash of panic in his eyes, "I don't think I can handle this!"

"Yes you can," Riley promised him, "I'll help you. I used to love helping out with Bella and the kids, you know that."

Pain reflected in Rebel's eyes.

"But this is different! I don't even know where to go with a child...I can't bring him up in the Tardis!"

Riley thought for a moment.

"Then you put Carla into cryosleep, and you find a nice time and place to settle with the boy and you bring him up, and you can always come back to see Carla – then when the time is right and she can have the implant, assuming all goes well, you can bring her home in the Tardis."

He was still tearful.

"You make it sound so easy. But it's not...I'm scared..."

As he gave a sob Riley hugged him tightly.

"She's not going to die," he said quietly, "And that boy of yours...we already know how well he turns out. So let's get on an make our plans. What about Earth?"

As he let go of him, Rebel looked at him in confusion.

"Earth?"

"If you go back far enough we can settle in a trouble free time period. Get a nice little house in the country, live quietly. It will be good for you."

"And what about you? I can't expect you to give up everything for me!"

Riley smiled.

"Give up what?" he asked him, "My life is with my best mate and his Tardis. And if that Tardis is going to earth so my best mate can raise his kid there, thats where I'm going too."

Rebel blinked as he fought back tears.

"Thanks...I couldn't have coped without you."

"You could," Riley replied, "Because you're stronger than you know. But if you prefer to think that's down to me, if it makes you feel any better, go ahead and think it. But I know you can handle this with or without me."

"You seem sure of that," Rebel said, "But I'm not."

And then he turned to the Tardis door.

"Let's go and see Carla before they put her in that bloody coffin."

As they left the Tardis Riley put his arm around Rebel's shoulder.

"_She's not dying,"_ he reminded him, _"She's getting her only chance to live." _

* * *

Once again Rebel paused, unable to carry on with his tale.

As the firelight glowed, the Doctor looked at him with sympathy in his eyes.

"It couldn't have been easy to say goodbye to her."

Rebel shook his head.

"It wasn't easy. I held her in my arms for a long time, I knew it would be years until I held her again – assuming she revived from the cryosleep. In the end Riley put his hand on my shoulder and reminded me I had to let her go. So I kissed her goodbye and they put her in the chamber and she stopped breathing as they froze her body. I didn't know if she would make it..."

And then he paused again, taking a deep breath as he blinked away tears.

"We came here," he said quietly, "Me and Riley and baby Christian... I made journeys back in the Tardis to visit Carla and each time they said it would be years until I'd know if she could be treated. And it was hard to cope. I felt caught between hope and grief, at the same time I had my son to care for... And I'd decided to come off the T bombs once and for all, having a child to care for didn't really leave me any other choice, I had to get clean. Riley did so much for me."

And then he fell silent.

The fire was still crackling, the glow throwing shadows up the walls in the silent house.

Alice exchanged a glance with her mother, but Ace just looked to the Doctor, who was also silent. Finally the Doctor broke the silence with a quiet remark:

"Thank you for telling us everything. I appreciate it couldn't have been easy to bring up such painful memories."

Rebel drew in a deep breath and nodded.

"It wasn't easy," he said, "But it's in the past now."

Alice spoke softly as she asked a question she couldn't hold back.

"Did Carla survive?"

Rebel looked at her and smiled.

"She had the implant ten years later. And she's not completely the person she used to be, but she's still my Carla. I married her a year later."

"And what about Riley?"

Warmth shone in his eyes as he thought of his best friend.

"He stayed," he replied, "He's never left my side – he helped bring up Christian, he helps me with Carla when she needs it, he looks after this place – I'm not exactly the tidiest person, so he does all the things I -"

"_Can't be arsed to do yourself?" _said Riley as he walked into the room and switched on the light, and then he smiled at Rebel, before glancing at his visitors.

"I didn't know we had company..."

And Ace stared at the man who stood in the doorway:

Rebel had been right about the effect of the Cybermen's experiment - he hadn't aged a day in twenty years since she had last seen him...

* * *

"Mister Riley," said the Doctor as he stood up, "It's a pleasure to see you again. And you remember Ace, and this is my daughter Alice."

As Riley said hello to Alice the Doctor smiled.

"Rebel's been telling us about what happened sixteen years ago."

"Oh, that," Riley replied, "It's all in the past now. I'm more interested in what he was saying about me when I came in through the door -"

And he glanced at Rebel.

"You'd better not have called me the nanny or the housekeeper!"

And Rebel laughed as he shook his head.

Now the lights were on, as Ace looked around the room she started to smile. There were pictures on the wall and over the fireplace, Rebel and baby Christian, then Rebel and Riley with a slightly older Christian, there was a wedding picture of Rebel and Carla...

"I missed all this when the lights were out," she said quietly to the Doctor, and he gave her a knowing smile.

Alice got up from her seat and walked over to Riley.

"Rebel told us everything," she said, "Thanks for saving my brother."

And as she hugged him, he seemed a little stunned, but then he briefly hugged her too and then let go.

"Your brother? Oh yeah, of course he is - but don't say anything to Christian – he's only sixteen, he hasn't done any of it yet."

Alice smiled.

"You're a hero," she said, and Riley's eyes shone with pride.

"Thanks..."

"Where's Christian?" the Doctor wondered.

"He's outside, he's just getting the shopping indoors. Carla's with him."

"Is she okay?" Rebel asked.

"She fell asleep in the car, so expect her to be a bit clumsy when she comes in – I expect she'll want to go to bed soon."

Rebel looked to the Doctor and explained some more, lowering his voice as he glanced to the doorway and saw no sign of Carla.

"She had to have part of her brain replaced with a cybernetic implant. She looks normal at first glance, but she had major surgery and it's always going to affect her. She tires easily, she's clumsy, forgetful – and sometimes she says too much, doesn't know when to hold back..."

"_Which can be amusing at times, " _Riley added, _"To be specific, like that time you met the vicar before your wedding and she told him how much you love bondage."_

"I didn't actually want you to mention that," Rebel said, and the Doctor looked away as he briefly smiled, and caught Ace doing exactly the same.

Then as Carla and her son came into the room, Alice's eyes lit up with joy.

"Christian?"

And the sixteen year old looked at her in confusion.

"I'm your sister!" she said, and launched her self into his arms, giving him a tight hug.

"Okay..." he said, sounding confused, "Nice to meet you..."

"This gentleman is my Seventh incarnation," Rebel explained, and Alice is his daughter, and this is Ace, her mother."

As Christian greeted them, Ace turned to the doorway and looked at Carla.

"Do you remember me?" she asked, and there was no trace of hostility in her voice.

Carla walked into the room, looking a little tired but otherwise very much like the Carla Bailey she remembered. She took off her coat and dropped it on the sofa, but missed and it fell to the floor and Riley quickly picked it up, draping it over the back of the sofa before she realised her mistake.

"Ace..." she said, and then she looked to the Doctor.

"How are you?" he asked her.

"I'm fine," she replied, and continued to look closely at him as her memory began to slide into place.

She looked back at Rebel.

"I know these people..."

"Yes you do," Rebel replied,"Many years ago, do you remember the Doctor was poisoned by another Time Lord called the Master? You helped to treat the effects of the toxin."

Then he saw a spark of recognition in her eyes as everything fell into place.

_"Of course!"_

She hugged the Doctor, and then as she drew back she looked into his eyes and gave a gasp.

"Oh my God...you're married to Ace..."

"We've been married for years," Ace replied.

Carla looked briefly confused again.

"You had a baby..."

"That's me," Alice said, "I grew up. I'm twenty years old now."

And Carla thought about it for a moment and then nodded.

"That long ago? I get confused with dates and time...I was in cryogenic suspension for ten years..."

And then she remembered something else and stared at the Doctor.

"_Did I ever have sex with you? I think we did it my office..."_

Surprise flashed briefly in the Doctor's eyes and he laughed it off.

"A very long time ago before you met your husband."

Ace was staring at her.

"I've been shopping," Carla said to her, "I hate getting last minute stuff on Christmas eve, but it was getting late so it wasn't too busy. And Christian and Riley came with me so I didn't forget anything."

Ace was still staring at her.

"Shopping...right..."

Rebel put his arm around his wife and looked into her eyes.

"You look tired, darling. How about I take you upstairs now?"

"I'd like that," she said, "I'm so sleepy."

"And we should be leaving soon," the Doctor said.

Ace shot him a glance he knew well – it was one that said she did not agree at all.

"But we haven't been here long -"

"And I think we should leave Alice here for a couple of days to get to know this side of the family," he told her, "We can always catch up with them when we come back."

She caught a look in his eyes that she couldn't define as he winked at her.

"Okay..." she replied, and looked to her daughter.

"Would you like to stay here for a couple of days? I mean, if that's okay with Rebel and Carla -"

"We would love you to stay Alice!" Rebel said warmly, and Carla smiled but then leaned her head against his shoulder as she blinked tired eyes.

"We'll leave now," the Doctor "Let's leave Alice to get to know a new part of the family, and then when we come back in a couple of days time, we can get to know a new part of the family too."

"What?" she said, looking at him in confusion.

"You take care of your wife," he said to Rebel, "We'll see ourselves out. Alice, you stay here and get to know everyone. I'll be back for you in the Tardis in a couple of days. Have fun."

Alice smiled, and as she caught a look in her father's eyes that she didn't quite understand, she wanted to ask him what it was about, but he led Ace quickly from the room. Then as Alice sat down again, Christian asked her if she wanted some more tea, and she smiled and nodded and he left the room.

"We can't say much in front of Christian about his future," Riley said as he sat down beside her, "But he knows what happened with the Cybermen. We just haven't told him about a certain intergalactic time travelling cop who turns up to help us out because we can't mess around with destiny."

Alice looked at the man who sat beside her in a grey pinstripe suit and a bright orange shirt patterned with clockwork cogs. She noticed the jewelled rings on his fingers and she smiled.

"Nice rings, where did you get them?"

"Eighteenth century Earth," he told her, "That was when I had a time machine of my own."

"You had a Tardis?"

"No," he replied, "I had an experimental time machine – well, it wasn't exactly mine, I sort of borrowed it -"

"Riley?"

"Yes?" he looked right at her and she saw no hint that either of his eyes were cybernetic.

"What do I call you, just Riley?"

"If you like," he replied, "Or you could call me Larry."

She smiled.

"I'll call you Larry."

"That's great," he said to her, "Because most people call me Riley!"

And she smiled at him, and thought again how brave he had been to save her brother from the Cybermen. They were still talking when Christian came back into the room with the tea, and then they carried on talking, as Riley told her all about his life with Rebel, a Time Lord who also happened to be his best friend.

And while she sat there talking with Riley, she wondered why her father had insisted on leaving her there for two days. She guessed there had to be a reason, because there was always a reason for everything with her father – but then Riley was talking about his own adventures with a stolen prototype time machine, and she forgot about the reason, and carried on listening to his tale...


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

As the Tardis shifted out of Rebel's dimension, Ace looked thoughtfully at her Professor.

"Why were you so keen to leave her to catch up with family?"

He looked up from the console and smiled.

"Why not? She wanted to meet her brother and hear all about the past."

And she caught a look in his eyes that she couldn't define as she caught a playful sparkle there and could only be certain of one thing – _that he was up to something.._

"What's this about?"

He leaned on the console as their eyes locked.

"Oh, a few things, actually," he told her, "But I'm not saying another word. I want you to enjoy the surprise when we go back."

Ace stepped closer and gently took hold of his tie, pulling him closer as his eyes lit up playfully.

"What is it you're hiding from me? Are you trying to tell me that for once, just for once, something _good_ is going to happen?"

"Quite possibly," he replied, and then he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close.

"And while Alice is away, we have all the time and space in the universe to ourselves.. _and_ this Tardis!"

And he kissed her deeply, and Ace welcomed his kiss, running her fingers through his hair as she responded with the kind of passion that had never faded since their first time together, and at that moment, she felt as if it was their first kiss all over again...

* * *

The night was cold and crisp as Alice stepped out into the garden with Riley's coat around her shoulders.

"I just wanted to show you the garden," he said, "Because I made this garden, I did everything from the flower beds to the lawn – and I built that fountain."

And he pointed down the pathway to a round fountain filled with frozen water where an ornamental fish stood on its tail fin, poised with ice droplets set on its frozen lips.

"It looks better in summer," he told her, "And in the daylight – but I just thought it might be nice to have a look while it's so icy, the moonlight gives it a bit of silver glow... well I think it's nice. And I know it's cold, I won't keep you out here long, I just wanted you to see it. I think its a bit special out here in winter."

As she looked around and saw the trees and the borders and a pond set in the middle of a spiral pathway, she smiled.

"You did all this?" she exclaimed.

"Of course I did, I'm not making it up!"

"No, I didn't mean it like that – what I meant was, I'm surprised you had the time to do all of this, I know it must have been difficult for you, looking after my brother, helping out with Carla – _and_ making sure Rebel didn't fall apart."

He laughed softly and his breath made an icy cloud in the freezing air.

"Oh, he _did_ fall apart a few times, in his usual way – but not for long. Because underneath he's stronger than that, a lot stronger. I knew that before the Cybermen changed everything."

"You still think of it like that?"

He paused to watch the moonlight reflect off the frozen water, and then he nodded.

"Yeah, I definitely see it like that – this is how it all turns out in the end, this is where we ended up after more than three years of adventures – the Cybermen came along and wrecked everything, and now this is how our lives turned out, sixteen years later. Not that I can ever regret Christian coming into the world, I don't mean it like that – he's a great kid. And he looks a lot like his Dad."

"I've noticed that," Alice replied, "He's very much like him."

"He didn't meet his mother until he was ten," Riley said quietly, "She was in cryogenic suspension for a decade until she had the implant surgery. But once she was back with us and Rebel explained about how she was pregnant and the Cybermen took her son away – it all fell into place. But Christian didn't lose out when she wasn't around, we both made sure of that. He had his Dad and his Uncle Larry, he's always got us, he knows his family love him."

"And what about you?" she asked.

He looked at her.

"What about me?"

"Well, you've spent sixteen years looking after everyone else around you. I don't expect there was any spare time for you to do much else."

He indicated to the lawn and the fountain beyond and smiled proudly.

"I managed to get the garden done."

She smiled too.

"And it looks good," she told him, and then she shivered.

Riley put his arm around her and they turned back towards the house.

"Lets go back inside," he said, "Its getting late."

* * *

They went back into the warm, bright kitchen and found Christian making some cocoa.

"Do you want some?" he asked, and Alice shook her head.

"I'm going to bed in a minute."

"Me too," Riley said, and then his eyes widened as he added, "Not with your _sister_, I didn't mean it like that!"

And Alice laughed and so did Christian.

He picked up his cocoa and turned for the door.

"I know that, as if you'd go for a girl! Night Alice, it was great talking to you tonight – we can catch up some more in the morning. Night, Uncle Larry -"

"_Just a minute..."_

He turned back.

Riley was sitting at the kitchen table with Alice and fixing him with a look that demanded an explanation.

"What?" Christian asked him.

"What did you mean, you know I wouldn't go for a girl?"

Christian laughed softly.

"Oh come on, Uncle Larry – I do know!

"Know what?" Riley said.

"In all the years I've known you, ever since I can remember – you've never had a girlfriend. I _know_ you're gay."

Riley's mouth dropped open as he stared at Christian.

"Gay? I'm not gay! If I was gay I would have said so, I wouldn't be hiding it! Anyway, what makes you think that? I'm a regular straight geezer, me..."

Christian was still smiling.

"Well, it's just that you dress with such f -"

"Flair?" Riley suggested, as he swept a hand covered with jewelled rings down his steam punk shirt.

"Flamboyance!" Christian told him, and Alice found herself smiling as Riley stared at him.

"It's just my style. I'm a stylish guy."

"But you do it so brightly," he added, gesturing to his shirt.

Then Riley laughed.

"Christian, I have not had the time to find myself a girlfriend because I've been too busy looking after this family for the past sixteen years! But I have had girlfriends, I've had quite a few – it was just a long time ago...a _very_ long time ago."

Christian thought for a moment.

"Maybe it's time you got yourself another one," he suggested, and then he glanced to Alice.

"Goodnight, Sis," he said, and left the room.

Riley looked back at Alice in surprise.

"He thought I was gay? There's nothing gay about me!"

And then he laughed.

"He's right about one thing – I have been on my own for too long."

Alice smiled as she looked into his eyes.

"I was just thinking – the serum the Cybermen gave you, it means you'll never grow old. So you'll be around for many years, you'll be able to stay in Rebel's life for centuries."

"I know," he replied, "Sometimes I think it's almost like being a Time Lord – except I can't regenerate. I'm_ half immortal_ – I'll live for a very long time, just not eternally. But that's cool enough for me."

Alice frowned as she thought of Rebel's wife.

"What about Carla? How long does she have, I mean, with the implant, is it going to work for a long time – or not?"

"Oh yes," he told her, "That thing inside her head will live as long as she does – and in time she's going to have some cybernetic upgrades to keep it working perfectly, minor procedures, but with each one, she's going to become more cyborg, at least internally. So Rebel's got me, the half immortal, and his cyborg wife – plus his son is half Time Lord and capable of regeneration, so he's got himself a family that will be around much, much longer than the average human family could manage. That's got to be a good thing, he knows its going to last for years, even by his Time Lord standards. I think that's what he needs, it's real stability for him – for a long, _long_ time."

Alice smiled again.

"_So this is how it turns out, in the end, it turns out okay."_

"Yes, I think so," Riley replied, "We're all still here, that's what matters."

"That's how my Dad sees things," she told him, "I mean the Seventh Doctor – he sees life like that, he survived the Master's poison, me and my Mum are still here and we're okay – that's enough to make him happy."

"So you're saying I think like a Time Lord?" Riley said hopefully, and she laughed, and that was the moment she decided:

She really, _really_ liked this half immortal friend of Rebel...

"More or less," she agreed, and they left the kitchen together and went up the hallway, when they came to the stairs Riley stopped.

"I'd better say goodnight now."

"Good night Larry," she said, and kissed his cheek.

Then she was gone , walking off up the stairs as Riley stood there staring after her as his hand flew to his cheek and his eyes widened in surprise.

He started to smile as his heart skipped a beat.

"I think she likes you, Riley!" he said, and then he went up to bed with a smile on his face.

* * *

In the bedroom Rebel shared with Carla, the lights were down low as Carla sat in semi-gloom on the bed and looked out of the window at the frozen garden and the darkened night skies.

"Ace hasn't changed much," she said quietly, "She looks happy, too. She looks so well and -"

"And so do you," Rebel reminded her as he sat down beside her and put a gentle hand on her shoulder.

She turned her head and looked at him as she blinked away tears.

"Seeing them both today, it made me think about everything that happened, and I keep thinking she's not like me, she'll never be like me. She's not damaged, not reliant on implants...her life wasn't wrecked by the Cybermen."

"And neither was yours!" Rebel said firmly, "You've made a wonderful recovery considering how serious your injuries were, _don't _keep thinking about the past – and definitely don't compare yourself to someone who has never been through your experience!"

She shook her head.

"But...I keep thinking about what they did...the Cybermen, they took Christian away from me...I never knew I had a son until I woke up ten years later, ten years of my life, seeing him grow up, all those years gone..."

She gave a sob and he put his arm around her and held her closer.

"And Riley went into their lab and saved him," he reminded her, "And I brought him home and raised him until you could come back to us. What matters is that in the end, it turned out okay. We still have each other."

As he spoke he stroked her hair.

"All the bad stuff is gone now. And I'm thankful you're still alive. I love you so much, you don't know how I felt waiting all those years to find out if the implant could save you. Ten years may not sound like much to a Time Lord, but it felt more like a thousand years to me!"

She blinked tired eyes and gave a sigh.

"But I'll always have to have the cybernetics maintained – you're stuck with a woman whose mind is partly electronic. And I now I look normal but underneath I'm not and you have to wake up next to me every morning -"

"And I do, usually feeling aroused because I'm like that in the mornings and I'm really glad to have you next to me!"

She briefly smiled.

"Morning is the best I can manage. I need to go to sleep. I get so tired."

Rebel's gaze shifted from her face to her short night gown and he wanted to run his hands over her body, but she was exhausted and his needs really did have to wait until morning.

"I can't wait for you to have a bit more energy," he said, "A good nights sleep ought to put you right. Then maybe I'll get what I deserve in the morning..."

"You want me to spank you?"

He slipped off his shirt and kicked off his shoes and got on to the bed and slid his arm around her as she sat back and started to relax.

"Well as its Christmas I was hoping you might give me a few sharp slaps with a belt!"

She laughed softly.

"I might."

And she leaned closer and kissed him, then he pulled back, resisting the urge to make love to his tired wife. Then he caught a look of sadness in her eyes again.

"Oh Carla, don't think about it," he said gently, "The past is gone."

"And I am not like Ace," she said tearfully, "I'm scarred and damaged and -"

"And the universe is full of dark and terrible things," Rebel said softly as he held her, "And some of us are affected by it more than others. Travelling through time and space is hazardous. But at least we are still here."

"I'm sorry I'm not like her," she said tearfully, "I'm part machine..."

"You're a former cybernetic surgeon, you ought to know you are much more than that!"

"Well I do, but..."

She paused, looking at him with confusion in her eyes.

"How can you still want me?"

Rebel smiled as he looked into her eyes.

"Because I love you," he told her, "And when I look at you when we're alone I still see your beauty as much as I ever did, and I'm so thankful you are still with me, because I missed you terribly for ten long years. I have you back with me and nothing else matters."

"_But I know I've changed."_

The look he saw in her eyes made his heart ache.

"Of course you have," he told her, "We all have. Time does that, it changes everyone. And it would have changed you anyway, you're a mother now – can't think of a bigger change in life than becoming a parent. Look what that's done for me!"

She started to smile again.

"I do believe you've actually grown up at last, with help from Riley."

He smiled too, and then Rebel's gaze shifted briefly to the window and the night sky beyond it, as he thought far deeper into the darkness that lie beyond the night – the blackness of space, where the true depths of evil lurked...

And then Carla spoke up again.

"I was just thinking about Ace...did I tell you how I felt about Ace...about how she hasn't changed?"

A look of confusion had clouded her eyes as her memory struggled to recall the start of their conversation.

"Yes you did," he promised her, "You told me all about it. Now let's get ready for bed, shall we?"

"I wish I didn't have to do this.."

"What, sleep with me?" he joked, "I haven't had any complaints in the past!"

"No I meant -"

His voice softened.

"I know what you mean, and I don't care about it, and it doesn't bother me at all. In fact I'm quite attracted to the way you look...in a kinky sort of way, but I guess I'm just made that way!"

And before she could protest, he closed his fingers in the back of her hair and slid her wig from her head, she ran her hand over the cybernetic skin that was marked with seals that opened painlessly for maintenance work, and looked at him with a flicker of doubt in her eyes.

"You still want me? "

Rebel gave a sigh.

"Carla," he said fondly, "I will never stop wanting you. I love you."

Then he moved closer and gently kissed the cybernetic seal on the side of her head.

"Did you just kiss the access point for the main implant?" she asked in surprise.

He smiled.

"I love your implant. It's part of you and it keeps you alive. I'm grateful to it, because it means I get to keep you with me always. Plus your lack of hair only reminds me what beautiful eyes you have."

Then he put his arms around her and kissed her, and this time their kiss deepened as they lay together in the semi darkness. Then Rebel took hold of her hand and ran it across his chest, her fingertips brushing nipple rings.

"Do you remember the day you pierced my nipples?" he asked her.

She smiled.

"I remember it hurt you a lot...and you loved every minute of it!"

He gave her a gentle hug.

"That day," he told her, "Was so exciting...you know I love pain. That blew my mind!"

"I'm glad I can still remember it," she said, "I'm always glad when I can remember something from so long ago."

"Your memory isn't perfect but it's certainly still there," Rebel told her, "I'm hoping you can forget certain things from the old days, though...like how we first met."

And as they lay together she looked into his eyes and he caught a spark of recognition as the memory came back to her.

"I _do_ remember! You'd just taken a bad T bomb. I had to shock you to restart your hearts!"

"Christian finds it so hard to believe I ever used blue mist. He can't even imagine me flying the Tardis drunk!"

She laughed.

"You'll have to start taking us out in it again, the only journeys he's experienced are linked to me and Sabra and all the work I've had done. It would be nice just to have a quick trip around the galaxy, what do you say, Rebel?"

He hesitated.

"I'm quite happy to stay here these days," he replied, "I'm happy to be here on Earth with my family."

As they lay together she rested her head on his shoulder and spoke to him quietly.

"Tell me why you don't want to fly the Tardis any more."

Rebel paused for thought, and then explained carefully:

"Going out there, into time and space, is a dangerous business. If not for me, for those I care about. It's a big universe full of trouble, Carla. And I can't risk any of you. I'm not just thinking of keeping you safe, there's Riley too, and my son. I used to think I could never live like this – an ordinary life. I always thought my destiny was to wander the stars forever. And it's taken many regenerations and countless lifetimes for me to find out the truth."

"And what is the truth?" Carla asked him.

Rebel looked at her and smiled.

"The truth? It's much simpler than I realised – under the right circumstances, which I now have, I can stop wandering and finally feel a sense of belonging. That's the whole point of this life. "

And he turned on his back and carried on talking as she shifted closer to him and rested her head on his chest, listening to the sound of his twin hearts beating in unison:

"_I used to think my purpose would always be to fight against evil, to put right the wrongs in the universe – but now I know the time has come to rest - and all the things I thought were too ordinary are just what I always wanted deep down inside. I always thought being a Time Lord meant I couldn't stay around long enough to have a family, something that would last in my linear terms – but I was wrong. You're part cyborg. You could live for many centuries. Riley's never going to age and my son can regenerate. For a Time Lord, that makes a perfect family. When I first started out in this regeneration I was so alone and lost, but now I understand my own destiny is here, with you and our son and Riley. In this lifetime, I finally get to know what it means to feel peace."_

And he fell silent for a moment.

"Carla, I hope you remember at least half of this conversation in the morning, because it means a lot to me..."

He looked down and smiled fondly at the sight of his wife, eyes closed as she slept deeply, her breath slow and even against his chest.

"Maybe you will remember, or maybe not," he said, and he gave her a gentle kiss.

"Good night my darling," he whispered, "I love you, Carla."

And then he closed his eyes and slept easily, enjoying his purpose in this life, to finally know contentment...

* * *

When Alice woke up in the guest room, she looked at the clock beside her bed and sat up sharply. It was gone ten in the morning, and she dashed to the bathroom, showered and dressed and quickly left her room, feeling keen not to miss a moment of her time here with a side of the family she barely knew.

She went downstairs and followed the smell of breakfast, and found Riley in the kitchen, where he was frying bacon and eggs.

"_Rebel and Carla are already up, Christian's just finished his breakfast and they're in the front room exchanging gifts. I don't know what I've got yet but I hope it's socks, as long as I get interesting socks. And Merry Christmas. Now sit down Alice, I've just made some tea."_

She sat at the table and he gave her a mug of tea and then took two plates and served up breakfast for both of them.

As he sat down at the table he smiled.

"I'm glad I got up late – that way I get to have breakfast with you."

And she smiled back at him, and again the thought came to her that she liked Riley a lot, he was growing on her rapidly – and that was something she didn't want to think about, because he was clearly needed here, and she belonged in another time and place, with her mother Ace and her father, the Seventh Doctor... not here with his Fourteenth incarnation, she couldn't...she didn't want to even _think_ for one moment about the possibility that she would never be able to forget Riley, and may possibly have a broken heart forever when the Tardis came back and the time came for her to finally say goodbye...


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Ace was in bed and waking from a restful sleep.

She smiled as she felt the warmth of his body shift closer to hers, and then the Professor whispered in her ear:

"_Somewhere it's Christmas morning. And our daughter is getting to know the other side of the family. Perhaps she's getting to know them very well indeed, perhaps certain people will become close to her forever. Somewhere new friendships are being formed...and somewhere else, the tea is getting cold...but not here..."_

She giggled as his hand slid over the curve of her hip, "Not here, Ace...here at this moment you are warm beside the man you love and the Tardis is quiet and we have plenty of time to enjoy being alone together, while Alice is away Ace and the Doctor can play..."

She giggled again as his fingers walked up her shoulder, and then he playfully touched the tip of her nose.

She opened her eyes.

"I miss her, but this is so nice! Just you and me, like the old days!"

The Doctors eyes sparkled with amusement.

"The old days? Don't tell me you want to go and smash up some Daleks with a baseball bat or blow a hole in a wall with your nitro nine? I was hoping we could spend some time together, like this!"

She laughed as she turned over and wrapped her arms around her husband.

"Smashing up Daleks... that's tempting. But I think I'd rather stay here, with you..."

And he drew her closer and covered her mouth with a passionate kiss as they lay together in crumpled sheets and the Tardis drifted peacefully through starry space.

* * *

After breakfast, Alice left the kitchen with Riley and they walked through the hallway together, and as they headed for the front room, she noticed Riley was carrying a wrapped present.

"Is that for Rebel?" she asked him.

"No, it's for Christian," he replied, and then he chuckled, "I can't wait to see the look on his face when he opens it!"

And they went into the front room.

"Oi, Christian – catch this..."

Riley tossed the parcel across the room and Christian caught it.

"What is it?" he wondered.

Riley smiled.

"Let's just say it always brought me good luck in the old days – and I want you to keep it for when you get a bit older and you go on your travels through time. It might keep you safe."

Christian opened up the parcel as Rebel and Carla looked on.

As he drew it out of the wrapping paper, Christian smiled.

"One of your flamboyant shirts! Thanks, Uncle Larry...I might just wear that one day..."

"_You will..." _Rebel murmured, looking at his son's gift :

_Riley had given him a yellow polka dot shirt, the same shirt he would wear many years from now, when he was an inter galactic cop and travelled back in time to save his parents from the Cybermen..._

"What did you say?" Carla wondered.

Rebel shook his head.

"Doesn't matter..so, do you like your bracelet?"

She looked down at the diamonds that glittered on her slender wrist and smiled.

"It's lovely," she replied.

Then he took her by the hand and led her over to a sofa and they sat down together.

Alice watched as Rebel looked lovingly in to his wife's eyes, then he brushed a lock of hair over her shoulder, pausing to straighten up the gold necklace she wore with a matching diamond pendant.

"I wish I'd known you was coming," Christian said to his sister, "I would have got you a present."

Alice smiled.

"It doesn't matter, what matters most to me is being here and getting to know everyone."

And as she said that, she exchanged a glance with Riley and as she looked away, she felt a pain deep inside at the thought that soon she would have to leave – she would have to walk away from Riley, and that thought was becoming harder to bear...

Then Carla looked at the time.

"I'd better get the dinner on."

Riley jumped up from his seat.

"Oh no...you can't do all that cooking, Carla...remember last year?"

"I won't set fire to anything this time..."

"I'll help you cook the dinner," Rebel said, "It's about time I did some cooking – Riley does it all year round, let's give him the day off!"

"Thanks," Riley replied, "I appreciate that, mate."

Christian held up the shirt and smiled.

"Thanks, Uncle Larry – this is quite a cool shirt. Who knows, one day I might even wear it on my adventures through time and space!"

"_I'm sure you will,"_ Rebel said knowingly, and then he left the room, leading Carla through to the kitchen.

"I'd better put this somewhere safe," Christian said, carefully folding the shirt.

And then he walked out of the room, leaving Riley and Alice alone together.

* * *

As the fire crackled warmly and the Christmas lights twinkled and the tinsel shone and the holly and ivy over the fire place made the room look like an old fashioned Christmas card, Alice turned to Riley and looked into his eyes.

"_I'll miss you when I go back."_

Surprise registered in his eyes.

"Really? Well I suppose that makes two of us...I like you a lot... I'd love to come with you. But I can't leave Rebel. He needs me, he needs help with Carla and this house and...who would do the garden? Not him, he's still got a house brick next to the console to put on the accelerator, he broke it over twenty years ago and still can't be arsed to fix it... and then there's Christian, he's a good kid but he's only sixteen he's still got some growing up to do... and Carla will always need maintenance work done to her cybernetics, he finds that hard to cope with even though he tries not to show it – he worries about her all the time, and that man does _not_ handle pressure very well."

Alice nodded.

"I know that, I know you couldn't come with me. I would have liked you to, just so we could spend some time together..."

Riley shifted closer to her and took hold of her hand.

"I was thinking that too – but I can't do it. I guess we can't always have what we want in life."

"But we do have now," she said quietly.

He looked into her eyes.

"What, you mean_ right_ now?"

"This moment," she said, "We _do_ have now."

And Riley leaned closer and their lips touched.

As he kissed her gently she wrapped her arms around him and returned his kiss, their passion deepening until he pulled back sharply.

"We can't do that...not in here..."

Then he got up and grabbed her by the hand, remembering she had said, all the time they had was now...

"_Let's go upstairs!"_ he said breathlessly.

* * *

Moments later they were upstairs in Riley's room.

He closed the door quietly, slid the bolt across to ensure privacy, and then led her over to his bed as he kissed her without stopping.

She fell back on to his bed and they rolled on the covers, locked in a passionate embrace.

Then Riley briefly came up for air, breathless as he looked into her eyes.

"I think I love you, Alice!"

"Don't say that!" she whispered, "We can't fall in love...we can't, it wouldn't work, we can't be together..."

"Maybe it's too late," Riley replied, "Because I know how I feel, I'm very sure of it."

And suddenly she didn't want to think about anything any more as she reached for him, pulling at the buttons on his shirt and then running her hands over his exposed chest.

"Make love to me, Riley!" she said impatiently.

As he looked down at her his eyes widened in surprise.

"Blimey, Alice...slow down, don't start talking like that...it's been a long time, and could _easily_ be over before it begins, if you get what I mean... If you keep exciting me like that I won't be making love to anyone!"

Then she reached for him again, impatient to taste his kiss once more, and this time, Riley made no attempt to break off from her kiss as he welcomed her advances, kissing her deeply as they lay together behind the locked door of his room, and he made love to her for the first time.

* * *

Much later after dinner, as the afternoon began to slide towards evening, Alice sat with the rest of the family as the fire burned warmly and Rebel and Christian talked together as Carla began to fall asleep on the sofa.

"It's been a lovely day," Rebel said, and then he looked to Alice.

"And what's made it even better is the fact that we have you here too, Alice. I wish your father and Ace had stayed too – but we can always catch up when they come back."

And Alice smiled, but felt sadness that made her ache as she thought of the moment that was looming ever closer when the Tardis would return, and she would have to say goodbye to Riley.

They were sitting together on a sofa by the window, and as she looked at him she blinked away tears.

"_I wish I could stay forever,"_ she said quietly, and Carla noticed nothing as she slipped into a deep sleep on the sofa near the fire, but Christian and Rebel both detected the sadness in her voice.

Riley stared at her.

"_Don't..."_

"Don't what?" Rebel asked.

"_He doesn't want me to mention the fact that something happened between us and we're both sad that I have to leave soon," _she replied, and Christian looked at her in surprise, but Rebel glanced from his best friend to Alice, and suddenly the idea of it made perfect sense:

He had noticed how well they had got along from the moment they first met – and now he could see it clearly, it was in their eyes, and he sensed it from them, too...the remains of his empathic receptor were not strong, but he knew love when he felt it and it was _definitely_ felt on both sides with Riley and Alice...

"I see," he replied, "Well that's good news. It's always good to see two people fall in love so deeply. And Riley, it's about time you found someone. You've been on your own for years!"

The emotion that flickered in Riley's eyes made his twin hearts ache.

"I can't leave you," he said honestly, "I would love to go off with Alice, and she knows it too – but I couldn't be happy. My family is here, with you and Carla and Christian."

"And that makes perfect sense to me," Alice added, "I wish it could be different, but I understand his reasons."

And then she smiled as she looked into his eyes.

"I'm glad I'm here with you and we have this little bit of time to be together," she told him, "And even when I leave I the Tardis, I know I won't forget you. I can't, because I love you too much to ever forget you."

And then Christian spoke up.

"Maybe you could work something out – you could visit each other. Dad, you wouldn't mind taking Uncle Larry to meet with Alice, would you?"

"Well I did say no more non essential space flights, but I'd make an exception for both of you," Rebel replied, "It's up to you."

And then he looked back to his son.

"Let's go through to the games room, I fancy a game of snooker. Let's leave these two alone to enjoy some time together."

And he smiled warmly at Alice, then he left the room and Christian followed.

Alice blinked away tears.

"I'm sorry," she said to Riley, "I had to say something. I want everyone to know how I feel about you, but I know there's nothing we can do to stay together. I know you're right – Rebel needs you here. Even when Christian's older and off travelling the galaxy, he's still going to need you."She paused, glancing towards Carla, who was sleeping deeply on the sofa, and then she lowered her voice, "If Carla's condition improved tomorrow, Rebel would _still _need you. He's always going to need his best friend. You're his rock. He's always relied on you. He needs you with him, I know that, I understand that. Larry, there's no way you could leave. It just wouldn't be fair – and I know you wouldn't be happy either, like you said, they're your family."

He nodded.

"They are. And you're right, I couldn't be happy without them. Me and Rebel go back a long way. I was the one who saved him when the solar shields failed. He burned up in front of me and regenerated, and I didn't know this other bloke he became, he was nothing like the man I called the Doctor, the man who had married my sister. He was a total stranger to me at first. But then I got to know him all over again and I saw that he was still the same man underneath – he'd just regenerated, but all his fears and his weaknesses, it was all caused by what happened when the planet burned. Instead of becoming a new person, he was still falling apart in his new regeneration. But I was there for him."

"And you'll always be there for him, I understand that. He needs you."

Riley smiled.

"He will always need his best mate," he told her, "That's why I'll always be here for him."

And then his hand closed over hers as he looked at her.

"I want to spend every moment with you," he said honestly, "Tonight up until the time comes to say goodbye. But if you don't want to carry on with this, I get it, because there's no point, it ain't going any where."

"Of _course_ I want to be with you!" she told him, and she gave him a tight hug.

He clung to her, not wanting to let go, but then as he looked over her shoulder and he saw Carla rolling to the edge of the sofa, he quickly let go of Alice and jumped up from his seat.

"What's the matter?" she asked him.

"Carla!" he said and hurried over to her, put his arm around her and turned her on to her back, being careful not to wake her as he stepped back.

"When she wakes up I'll take her up to bed," he said, "Rebel's in the games room with Christian, it's not fair to break up their game just to get her off to sleep."

"You really care about everyone in this family," she said softly, "I think that's great."

He smiled warmly.

"And I made a great garden out there," he reminded her, gesturing towards the window and the view of the darkening garden.

Alice got up and walked over to him, and they stood together in front of the warm fire.

"I will miss you," she told him, "I really, really will. And if there was another way, I'd stay with you. But it wouldn't be fair on my Mum and Dad. They'd hardly ever see me. I mean, two versions of the Doctor can't be together constantly all the time...not long term. I've got my time line. You've got yours. We can't change that."

"I know, but I wish we could."

Riley took her in his arms and held her tightly as they both wished her stay in his world would never reach an end.

* * *

But the next day passed by too quickly, as all good times did – and soon the time had arrived for Alice to leave.

She had woken in Riley's arms and he had kissed her and looked into her eyes, then tried to make her smile by joking that if he didn't get up early, no one would get up until lunchtime, because he was the alarm clock around here – but she had just looked at him sadly and then hugged him tightly.

He had intended to kiss her one last time and then let go, but he didn't want to let go and neither did she, so they had made love one last time, and then she had got up and showered and dressed, and while she was dressing he was in the bathroom running some gel through his hair and buttoning up his shirt.

He left the room before she was ready to go downstairs.

"Larry -" she said as he reached the door, and tears stung at his eyes as he looked back at her and smiled.

"_Don't,"_ he said softly, _"It's been great, it's been the best ever. Don't spoil it now by crying, because I'm trying so hard not spoil anything."_

And then he left the room and Alice packed her bag, feeling torn between two worlds as she wondered how life could ever be the same again now she had found true love and was about to walk away from it...

Just after breakfast, after she had talked with Carla and her brother and started to think of Rebel as another version of her father, right at the moment everything seemed to be coming together in away that only a family could, she heard the familiar sound of the Tardis materialising.

"I'd better go, then," she said, and she turned to Rebel and Carla.

"I hope I see you both again one day."

And she hugged Rebel, then let go and hugged Carla. Then she turned to her brother and smiled as she thought of the future he knew nothing about, a future that would see him travel back to the day his life began to save his own parents.

"You're going to do great things with your life, Christian," she said warmly, and then they embraced.

As he let go of her, Rebel glanced at Riley, caught the look of sadness in his eyes and made an announcement:

"I think perhaps Riley should see her out, come on, let's go into the front room, let's watch some Christmas TV – l always did hate goodbyes!"

"But don't you want to see my Mum and Dad?" Alice wondered.

"Another time," he said kindly, "You go with Riley."

And she lifted her bag and walked to the front door and Riley walked with her.

"I hate goodbyes too," he said, "Maybe that means I really _do_ think like a Time Lord!"

And he opened the door and they stepped outside together.

* * *

The Tardis had materialised just a short distance up the path, and as they walked towards it, Alice glanced at Riley.

"I'll miss you, Larry."

"Yeah yeah, lets not say it...but me too, I will too, miss you, I mean..."

The door opened.

"What is it you're not telling me?" Ace demanded as the Doctor stepped out and she followed.

"Wait and see..." he told her.

Alice walked up to the Tardis and managed a smile even though sadness shaded her eyes.

"Dad, Mum...it's been great, but I'm ready to leave now."

The Doctor looked at her thoughtfully.

"Are you sure about that, Alice? Oh! Hello, Riley...nice to see you. Are you coming in? Fancy a quick trip around the galaxy before we leave?"

He shook his head.

"If I did that," he replied, "I'd never come back. And I'm needed here. Have a safe trip, Alice."

Then he kissed her cheek and she turned away and followed her parents into the Tardis.

"_Alice..."_

Riley drew in a sharp breath, suddenly grabbed by the notion that he never, _ever_ wanted to let go of her again, but the door closed and with a wheeze and a groan, the Tardis faded in and out and vanished from sight, leaving Riley alone in the frosty garden.

He looked sadly at the spot where the ship had stood, and then he gave a sigh.

"Just my luck," he said sadly, and turned back towards the house as tears filled his eyes.

* * *

The Tardis was floating gently in space.

All around was the familiar hum of the machine she had come to think of as home for most of her life, but as she stood beside her father at the console, she blinked away tears.

"Something wrong?" the Doctor asked her.

Ace looked intently at her daughter.

"Of course there's something wrong – you look like you're about to cry! What went wrong, Alice?"

Her daughter shook her head.

"Nothing went wrong. Everything went right, that's the problem..."

And Ace looked sharply at the Doctor.

"That's it, no more secrets! What's going on? You said something _good_ was going to happen!"

The Doctor looked to his daughter.

"_But I thought you were about to meet the love of your life?"_

She looked at him in surprise and so did Ace.

"Who is he?" Ace demanded, "And how did you know any of this?"

The Doctor smiled.

"I looked ahead many years ago. Her and Larry are made for each other."

"Larry?" said Ace, "Who's Larry?"

"A rather eccentric scientist who stole a prototype time machine... he's also a skilled highway man and owns a fantastic collection of steam punk clothing. I'm referring of course to Mr Laurence Riley, my future brother-in-law and best friend who, thanks to an experiment by the Cybermen, will never age. Riley is her future husband, everyone calls him Riley – except for Christian, who calls him Uncle Larry. _There you have it, your future son in law will be Larry Riley._"

"You never told me, for all these years?"

"I like to surprise you," he replied, and then he turned to Alice.

"Let me guess, he can't leave because he's devoted to me and the family – sorry, Rebel and his family...and you thought there was no way you could leave us and go and live in his time and place..."

Alice looked at him in surprise as she nodded.

"How did you work that one out?"

"He's sneaky!" Ace said, "You should know that by now, he's always had secrets, right since the day I met him!"

And the Doctor smiled on hearing that remark.

Then he looked back at his daughter.

"But you _can_ go back to him. We can always come and visit, Alice! Besides, you have no idea how much fun we've had while you've been away. I _love_ being spontaneous with your mother, it's _so_ liberating to be able to be naked in my own Tardis with my wife and not having to worry about my kid walking in!"

"Professor!" Ace scolded, and Alice winced.

"Dad, please... you're my parents..I _don't _need to know that -"

"But me and your mother have a _great _sex life! It can only get better with you out of here and settled down."

And his eyes sparkled as he smiled warmly.

"Besides, I _know_ what happens next. _You go back. You stay with him. Me and your mother will help with the wedding plans. You get married on Sabra._"

"Slow down, he hasn't even asked me yet!" Alice exclaimed.

Ace had been looking thoughtfully at her daughter.

"If you love him," she said, "Don't let him go, Alice. I _never_ would have let your father go."

Alice looked from Ace to her father, and then back to her mother again.

"You really think I should go back, Mum?"

"Do you love him?"

"Of course I do!"

Ace smiled.

"_Go for it!"_

Alice turned back to her father.

"It's your destiny, Alice," he promised her, "You'll never regret this decision."

And then he reset the co ordinates and the Tardis shifted dimension again.

* * *

Back on Earth, Rebel had left his wife and son in the front room and gone back down the hallway towards the open door, where he saw Riley slowly walking back to the house. He saw tears in his best friend's eyes and his twin hearts ached for him.

And then as the sound of a Tardis arriving filled the air, they both looked back down the pathway in surprise, Rebel stared at the sight of the materialising police box, and Riley spun round sharply, looking through lightly falling snow in amazement as the Tardis returned.

The door opened.

"Just go," Ace said to her warmly, and gave her a hug.

Alice looked to her father.

The Doctor smiled.

"Be happy!" he told her, "Me and your mother have had plenty of adventures – but yours will be the best of all. Enjoy it!"

"Thanks Dad," she said, and he hugged her briefly and then let go.

"You'll see us soon, don't worry about that."

And he turned back to Ace.

"But shouldn't we wait for a couple of minutes -"

"No, this is the part where we leave quickly and let her get on with it. Come on Ace, " he said, and he laughed as his eyes lit up, "We've got the Tardis all to ourselves!"

"Do you want to come in?" Rebel called from the porch.

"Sorry Rebel – some other time – must fly!" And the Doctor raised his hat to him, then went back inside and closed the Tardis door.

* * *

Riley ran up the path and looked at Alice in surprise.

"You came back?"

She smiled.

"_Too right I did. I came back for you."_

Joy shone in Riley's eyes as he put his arms around her.

"I love you, Alice."

"I love you too," she told him, and as he pulled her closer and they kissed, the Tardis faded in and out of sight, and vanished from the garden.

The snow was falling heavier now and Rebel shivered, then called to the lovers who were kissing in the middle of the falling snow, oblivious to the cold.

"Come on!" he said, "Let's get back inside – we're missing the Christmas telly!"

And Riley turned back for the house, and Alice took hold of his hand and they walked back together up the path.

As they reached the house Rebel smiled at the sight of the Doctor's daughter and his best friend, happy at last together.

"I'm glad it all worked out," he said, "And welcome to the family, Alice."

And as they went back into the house, she briefly turned her head and cast a glance back at the snow-laden skies, smiling as her thoughts carried far beyond it, to the blue box that carried her parents through time and space.

"_Thanks," _she whispered, feeling grateful her father was a man who kept many secrets and had revealed all he knew at the perfect time, and then she kept a tight hold on the hand of her future husband as she and Riley went back into the house together.

End.

* * *

**Author Note:**

I**f this series of fics has been enjoyed, you may like to know I will be writing a series of fics featuring my own Doctor, Rebel, and his companions – these stories will be set between Phantoms and Legion of Steel, in the three years Rebel, Riley and Carla travelled the universe before the Cybermen incident. So there will be more adventures to come, although this is the end of this Four story series.**


End file.
